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150 Years of Advancing Science: A History of AAAS
AAAS and Science: 1900-1940
The sale of Science to James McKeen Cattell for $500
in November 1894 began an era of dramatic change for both the magazine
and AAAS. Cattell became the dominant figure in AAAS over the next
half-century and, arguably, the most significant figure in AAAS history.
Appointed professor of psychology at Columbia University in 1891, Cattell
had earned his Ph.D. at the University of Leipzig in Germany. Although
he was not well-known to most AAAS leaders, he had both an excellent reputation
among psychologists and experience as an editor when he took over Science.
By drawing on his many contacts for reports on current research and
news of the scientific community, Cattell quickly reestablished Science
as a viable journal. In early 1896, publication of a detailed account of
Roentgen's discovery of x-rays, which had been published in Germany only
a month earlier, gave Science's reputation a major boost.
Although Science was not the first American journal to report on
x-rays, it quickly became the journal with the broadest coverage of this
hot new field.
In 1900, following a recommendation made by a AAAS committee six years
earlier, permanent secretary Leland O. Howard and Cattell agreed to make
Science the official AAAS journal. Science agreed to
publish AAAS's official papers, news, and abstracts, while Cattell retained
editorial control and ownership. AAAS members received Science
without an increase in their $3 a year dues. AAAS paid Cattell $2
per member, instead of the going rate of $5 a year. Although the
deal initially reduced the income of both parties, AAAS hoped it would
increase membership while Cattell saw increasing membership as a means
of boosting circulation and advertising revenues. The gamble paid
off. Between 1900 and 1906, AAAS membership grew from less than 2,000 to
over 5,000.
Cattell was not satisfied simply with Science. In 1915,
he established The Scientific Monthly, to "review scientific progress
and advocate scientific educational and social reforms." The journal
was made available to AAAS members in place of or in addition to Science,
but it never replaced Science as AAAS's primary publication.
AAAS purchased it from Cattell in 1943 and merged it into Science
in 1958.
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