NEA Timeline By MAAAsters Mar 11, 1965 Wallace Stevens appointed first Chair of NEA Oct 6, 1969 Nancy Hanks appointed 2nd Chair of NEA Nov 30, 1977 Livingston Biddle appointed 3rd Chair of NEA Nov 13, 1981 Frank Hodsoll appointed fourth Chair of NEA Feb 28, 1989 Hugh Southern appointed Acting Chair of NEA Jun 12, 1989 Corcoran cancels Mapplethorpe exhibit Oct 1, 1989 John Frohnmayer appointed 5th Chair of NEA Nov 1, 1990 "NEA four" grants rejected by Frohnmayer Oct 8, 1993 Jane Alexander sworn in as 6th Chair of NEA Aug 1, 1995 Gingrich calls for abolishment of NEA Oct 1, 1997 Kathryn Higgins appointed Acting Chair of NEA May 28, 1998 Bill Ivey sworn in as 7th Chair of NEA Oct 1, 2002 Michael P Hammond appointed 8th Chair of NEA Oct 1, 2003 Dana Gioia appointed as Ninth Chair of NEA Jan 29, 2009 Patrice Walker Powell appointed as Acting NEA Chair Aug 7, 2009 Rocco Landesman appointed 10th Chair of NEA Aug 10, 2009 Yosi Sergant/Breitbart Obama Controversy