National Headache Week was initiated by the National Headache Foundation (NHF).

Governor James R. Thompson of Illinois declared it Headache Week in Illinois.

Congressman Frank Annunzio of Illinois introduced legislation to the House of Representatives to establish it as National Headache Week. This week coincided with the 20th anniversary of the National Headache Foundation, which at that time was called the National Migraine Foundation.

NHF named actor, Maureen Garrett, as its honorary chairperson. Ms. Garrett portrayed a migraine sufferer on the daytime serial, Guiding Light.

NHF’s Executive Director at the time, Suzanne Simons, stood in front of the Today Show studio at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York, holding a sign declaring that week as National Headache Awareness Week.

A panel of leading headache specialists convened in New York City to identify specific steps that migraine patients could take to better communicate with their health care providers in order to obtain successful treatment. The results of this summit were released as part of the observance of the National Headache Awareness Week.

The first themed week occurred, and focused “Making Headway in Headache Relief.”

The theme for the week was “Reduce Migraine Impact” to emphasize the importance of patients being proactive in seeking migraine treatment.

Purple was chosen as the color for an awareness campaign, which spurred patient education.

Awareness Week became Awareness Month with the theme of “It’s More Than Just a Headache.”

Purple became the official color of MHAM. The National Headache Foundation and Teri Robert began the #MHAM Blogging Challenge, which created daily prompts for bloggers to jumpstart an article related to the day's topic and theme.

The observance month was renamed “National Migraine and Headache Awareness Month,” to encompass all headache disorders. The theme for the year was “Unmasking the Mystery of Chronic Headache.”

Chronic Migraine Awareness, Inc began a Fact-A-Day campaign.

CMA, Inc. added a social media campaign to challenge participants to take action with advocacy and education.

Declarations about recognizing the impact of headache and migraine were received from local governments as well as state offices. In Chicago, many skyscrapers took on purple hues during June.

CMA, Inc. succeeded in gaining national recognition for National Migraine and Headache Awareness Month.

Alliance for Migraine Disorders launched Shades for Migraine campaign

The MHAM committee of CHAMP collaborated to create an updated logo that will be used for years to come. Each year it will be updated to include the theme chosen by the National Headache Foundation.