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History of the AAN

Celebrating 75 years of service to neurology

History of the American Academy of Neurology

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The AAN, like neurology itself, has evolved over a rich and fascinating past since it was incorporated on March 13, 1948, in Minneapolis, MN. Now celebrating our 75^th anniversary in 2023, we are excited to share how the Academy has transformed itself as it has responded to the unique needs of neurologists and neurology professionals in an ever-changing health care landscape.

Along with the biographies of each president, significant accomplishments during their terms, and revelatory interviews with key leaders of the AAN and the field of neurology, this page will host a monthly series of AANnews® articles that explore the circumstances behind the founding of the AAN and how it has supported its growing membership through the years in education, publications, science and awards, practice, advocacy, support for research, the AAN Annual Meeting—all the way up to the Academy’s response to a global pandemic and more. Check back often!

The American Academy of Neurology Digital Archive Collection

A growing collection of historical correspondence, photos, publications, and images of artifacts.

AAN Digital History Archive

These images represent a sampling of the items that are now accessible via the AAN Digital Archive. The collection represents 75 years of AAN's history and will continue to grow over the months and years as more assets are added.

AB Baker

Sample of AAN Digital Archive Contents

AAN Letterhead

Sample of AAN Digital Archive Contents

Four Horsemen

Sample of AAN Digital Archive Contents

Letter to establish AAN

Sample of AAN Digital Archive Contents

Poster display

Sample of AAN Digital Archive Contents

1996 Annual Courses

Sample of AAN Digital Archive Contents

1989 Member Directory

Sample of AAN Digital Archive Contents

Western Union Telegram

Sample of AAN Digital Archive Contents

ABPN Letter

Sample of AAN Digital Archive Contents

1949 AANAM Program Cover

Sample of AAN Digital Archive Contents

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75th Anniversary Articles

In honor of the 75^th anniversary of the AAN, AANnews is exploring the organization's rich history in a monthly series and Orly Avitzur looks back on AAN's history for Neurology^®Journal.

PAST PRESIDENTS

A.B. Baker, MD, FAAN
1948-1951

Pearce Bailey, MD, FAAN
1951-1953

Howard D. Fabing, MD, FAAN
1953-1955

Walter O. Klingman, MD, FAAN
1955-1957

Francis M. Forster, MD, FAAN
1957-1959

Augustus S. Rose, MD, FAAN
1959-1961

Adolph L. Sahs, MD, FAAN
1961-1963

Joseph M. Foley, MD, FAAN
1963-1965

Charles A. Kane, MD, FAAN
1965-1967

Richard P. Schmidt, MD, FAAN
1967-1969

Sidney Carter, MD, FAAN
1969-1971

Joe R. Brown, MD, FAAN
1971-1973

Gilbert H. Glaser, MD, FAAN
1973-1975

Robert A. Fishman, MD, FAAN
1975-1977

Robert J. Joynt, MD, FAAN
1977-1979

Dewey K. Ziegler, MD, FAAN
1979-1981

Nelson G. Richards, MD, FAAN
1983-1985

Melvin Greer, MD, FAAN
1985-1987

Theodore L. Munsat, MD, FAAN
1987-1989

Lewis P. Rowland, MD, FAAN
1989-1991

Roger N. Rosenberg, MD, FAAN
1991-1993

Jack P. Whisnant, MD, FAAN
1993-1995

Kenneth M. Viste, Jr., MD, FAAN
1995-1997

Steven P. Ringel, MD, FAAN
1997-1999

Francis I. Kittredge, Jr., MD, JD, FAAN
1999-2001

Stanley Fahn, MD, FAAN
2001-2003

Sandra F. Olson, MD, FAAN
2003-2005

Thomas R. Swift, MD, FAAN
2005-2007

Stephen M. Sergay, MB BCh, FAAN
2007-2009

Robert C. Griggs, MD, FAAN
2009-2011

Bruce Sigsbee, MD, FAAN
2011-2013

Timothy A. Pedley, MD, FAAN
2013-2015

Terrence L. Cascino, MD, FAAN
2015-2017

Ralph L. Sacco, MD, MS, FAHA, FAAN
2017-2019

James C. Stevens, MD, FAAN
2019-2021

Orly Avitzur, MD, MBA, FAAN
2021-2023

ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS

Nothing brings history to life more personally than interviews with those figures who have helped make that history. In 2011, members of the AAN’s History Section began interviewing AAN members who have distinguished themselves during their careers for their contributions to neurology or for their leadership of the AAN—or both. In 2017, AAN staff began interviewing living past presidents to get their insights on the challenges and successes during their two-year terms. Additional interviews in the AAN’s archives also are being added to the list below. We share these interview transcripts so members can more fully appreciate the impact of these individuals and better understand the evolution of the AAN and profession of neurology.

Interview Subject	Date	Location	Interviewer	Notes
A.B. Baker, MD, FAAN	April 29, 1982	Washington, DC	Maynard M. Cohen, MD, FAAN	With Adolph Sahs, MD, FAAN
Terrence L. Cascino, MD, FAAN	April 12, 2017	Minneapolis, MN	Tim Streeter
Maynard M. Cohen, MD, PhD, FAAN	August 1, 2012	Woods Hole, MA	Christopher Goetz, MD, FAAN, and Barbara W. Sommer	Includes photos and CV
Robert B. Daroff, MD, FAAN Part 1 Part 2	February 22, 2014 April 20, 2014		Douglas J. Lanska, MD, MS, MSPH, FAAN, and Barbara W. Sommer	Appendix 1: Daroff Pictures Appendix 2: Daroff Biographical Sources Appendix 3: Daroff CV Appendix 4: Anecdotes Appendix 5: Forster Correspondence
Russell DeJong, MD, FAAN	April 29, 1982	Washington, DC	Robert D. Currier, MD, FAAN	With Francis M. Forster, MD, FAAN
Peter J. Dyck, MD, FAAN	April 4, 2018	Philadelphia, PA	Christopher J. Boes, MD, FAAN
Stanley Fahn, MD, FAAN	April 24, 2017	Boston, MA	Tim Streeter
Stanley Fahn, MD, FAAN	April 20, 2015	Washington, DC	Michael S. Okun, MD, FAAN, and Lauren E. Klaffke
Joseph M. Foley, MD, FAAN	December 8, 2011	Cleveland Heights, OH	Douglas J. Lanska, MD, MS, MSPH, FAAN, and Barbara W. Sommer	Includes photos and CV
Joseph M. Foley, MD, FAAN	August 28, 2008	Phone interview	Tim Streeter	Included as Appendix in above transcript
Francis M. Forster, MD, FAAN	December 9, 1997 to April 7, 1998		Edited by Douglas J. Lanska, MD, MS, MSPH, FAAN	Correspondence with Robert B. Daroff, MD, and Lewis P. Rowland, MD
Francis M. Forster, MD, FAAN	April 29, 1982	Washington, DC	Robert D. Currier, MD, FAAN	With Russell DeJong, MD, FAAN
Robert C. Griggs, MD, FAAN	April 22, 2017	Boston, MA	Tim Streeter
Sami I. Harik, MD, FAAN	June 9, 2014	Phone interview	Douglas J. Lanska, MD, MS, MSPH, FAAN
Kenneth M. Heilman, MD, FAAN	November 4, 2013	Gainesville, FL	Heidi L. Roth, MD, FAAN, and Barbara W. Sommer	photos
Francis I. Kittredge, Jr., MD, FAAN	April 22, 2017	Boston, MA	Tim Streeter	With Roger N. Rosenberg, MD, FAAN
William M. Landau, MD, FAAN	August 10, 2012	St. Louis, MO	Victor W. Henderson, MD, FAAN, and Barbara W. Sommer	Includes photos and CV
M. Marsel Mesulam, MD, FAAN	January 12, 2015	Chicago, IL	Kirk R. Daffner, MD, FAAN, and Lauren E. Klaffke
Brenda Milner, PhD, ScD	December 2, 2011	Montreal, Quebec, Canada	Heidi L. Roth, MD, FAAN, and Barbara W. Sommer	Includes photos and CV
Sandra F. Olson, MD, FAAN	April 23, 2017	Boston, MA	Tim Streeter
Timothy A. Pedley, MD, FAAN	November 10, 2018	Minneapolis, MN	Tim Streeter
Jerome B. Posner, MD, FAAN	October 13, 2014	New York, NY	Lisa M. DeAngelis MD, FAAN, and Lauren E. Klaffke
Stanley B. Prusiner, MD, FAAN	April 27, 2017	Boston, MA	Douglas J. Lanska, MD, MS, FSPH, FAAN, and Lauren E. Klaffke	Appendix 1: Photos from interview Appendix 2: Images of other “prions”
Joseph A. Resch, MD, FAAN	January 29, 2008	Lauderdale, MN	Tim Streeter
Nelson G. Richards, MD, FAAN	June 29, 2017	Interview via email	Tim Streeter
Steven P. Ringel, MD, FAAN	April 23, 2017	Boston, MA	Tim Streeter
Lewis P. "Bud" Rowland, MD, FAAN	November 18, 2012	New York, NY	Steven Frucht, MD, and Barbara W. Sommer	With Esther Rowland; includes photos and CV
Roger N. Rosenberg, MD, FAAN	April 22, 2017	Boston, MA	Tim Streeter	With Francis I. Kittredge, Jr., MD, FAAN
Ralph L. Sacco, MD, MS, FAHA, FAAN	July 11, 2019	Minneapolis, MN	Tim Streeter	Video excerpt of 2019 Interview In Memoriam
Adolph Sahs, MD, FAAN	April 29, 1982	Washington, DC	Maynard M. Cohen, MD, FAAN	With A.B. Baker, MD, FAAN; coming later in 2018
Stephen M. Sergay, MB BCh, FAAN	April 23, 2017	Boston, MA	Tim Streeter
Thomas R. Swift, MD, FAAN	April 22, 2017	Boston, MA	Tim Streeter
H. Richard Tyler, MD, FAAN	August 26, 2013	Brookline, MA	Kenneth L. Tyler, MD, FAAN, and Barbara W. Sommer	Photos and information on the H. Richard Tyler Collection of the American Academy of Neurology Library

Recipients of the AAN President's Award

The AAN President's Award is given by the president of the American Academy of Neurology for outstanding service to the AAN and the profession of neurology.

See Past Recipients

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