AAO-HNS Bulletin | Special Edition | January 2021

26 In response to an invitation by Hal Foster, MD , a group of practicing ophthalmologists and otolaryngologists gathered in Kansas City, Missouri. A two-day program of scientific papers was held followed by the formation of a new society, the Western Association of Ophthalmologists, Otologists, and Laryngologists . APRIL 9-10, 1896 The Academy established the Research Fund, using an investment of $27,000 endowed by Liberty Bonds purchased during World War I. 1921 First Annual Meeting of the newly formed American Academy of Otolaryngology– Head and Neck Surgery in New Orleans, Louisiana. The picture shows Bobby R. Alford, MD , passing the gavel to Loring W. Pratt, MD . 1982 The Academy’s Perceiver and the ACO’s newsletters combined to form the new AAO-HNS Bulletin . 1982 The Board of Governors held its first meeting in 1982 in New Orleans, Louisiana, with Marvin Singleton, MD , as the first chair. 1982 Academy secretary Harry Gradle, MD , suggested the development of Home Study Courses. 1938 The Academy established two committees to standardize graduate training in ophthalmology and otolaryngology. This led to the creation of the first medical specialty boards—ophthalmology in 1913 and otolaryngology in 1924. 1913 Name changed to Western Ophthalmologic and Oto-Laryngologic Association . 1898 American Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology separated into two new organizations: the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Academy of Otolaryngology . 1978 Name changed to the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology . 1903 American Academy of Otolaryngology added Head and Neck Surgery to its name to become American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery . 1980 Transactions from meetings in 1896 and 1897 were collected, preserved, and disseminated, and beginning in 1903, these papers were released in a bound, hardcover collection as the Transactions of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Oto-Laryngology . 1903 At the annual business meetings of the American Academy of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery and the American Council of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, both memberships voted in favor of merging the two associations. The new association, named the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery , began to function January 1, 1982. It was structured to continue both the scientific and education functions of the AAO-HNS and the governmental and socio-economic functions of the ACO-HNS. 1981 BOG Milestone Moments