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William C. Redfield

In 1848, saddle and harness maker William C. Redfield, who was also a meteorologist, geologist, and promoter of railway and steamship development, became the first president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Early members included Henry David Thoreau and former president Millard Fillmore as well as distinguished scientists such as Joseph Henry (the second president), Louis Agassiz, and Benjamin Pierce.

In its 150-year history, AAAS has been led by a host of prestigious presidents, including physicist Robert A. Millikan (1929), anthropologist Franz Boas (1931), MIT president Karl T. Compton (1935), Harvard University president James B. Conant (1946), political scientist Don K. Price (1967), Nobel laureate in chemistry Glenn T. Seaborg (1972), anthropologist Margaret Mead (1975), U.S. Congressman Emilio Q. Daddario (1977-1978), economist Kenneth E. Boulding (1980), and science journalist Gerard Piel (1986). Mathematician Mina Rees became the first female president in 1971, and the AAAS president has been a woman in five of the past six years.