American Society for Clinical Investigation

The American Society for Clinical Investigation has its origins in a chance meeting in June 1907 on the Atlantic City boardwalk, in which Samuel James Meltzer, David Linn Edsall, Wilder Tileston, Warfield Theobald Longcope, and probably Joseph Hersey Pratt were present ("ASCI Secretary’s Book, 1907–1965". History of Medicine Division. Bethesda, MD: National Library of Medicine.). The parties to this meeting considered the need for a new society, separate from the Association of American Physicians (AAP), whose membership was at that time limited to 160 individuals. The purpose of the new society would be to give younger men who were not yet members of the AAP, and not eligible for membership in the AAP, the advantages of meeting other young men active in medical research. The new organization was formally constituted on May 11, 1908, at the New Willard Hotel in Washington. A total of 32 physicians agreed to become charter members of ASCI in 1908. The first meeting of the ASCI was held in Atlantic City on May 10, 1909. The organization was also known as the "Young Turks" in allusion to the rebellious spirit in which it was founded, as a counterweight to the older and more deeply established Association of American Physicians (colloquially known as the "Old Turks" in subsequent years). These terms are no longer used by the Society.