Mark Your Calendar for ACS' 150th Anniversary

Charles F. Chandler leads the first organizational meeting of the American Chemical Society at the New York College of Pharmacy. The organizers invite chemists from New York City and the vicinity to attend.

Chandler (on behalf of the other members) invites the noted photochemist and physicist John W. Draper, a household name at the time, to become the first President of the American Chemical Society.

Thirty-five chemists hold the founding meeting at the College of Pharmacy of the City of New York, marking the first official American Chemical Society meeting.

Dr. H. Endemann, who will become the first editor of JACS, delivers the first paper before the society: The Determination of Relative Effectiveness of Disinfectants.

The American Chemical Society incorporates under the laws of the State of New York. Publication of Proceedings of the American Chemical Society begins.

The American Chemical Society begins publishing its flagship journal, the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS), in April 1879. The journal's inaugural Editor-in-Chief — Hermann Endemann — leads the journal for one year and then returns briefly in 1881 for an additional year, stewarding the journal that — since 2021 — is led by Professor Erick Carreira.

The Rhode Island Local Section of the American Chemical Society is officially established, becoming the first local section in the Society's history.

The American Chemical Society accepts its first "regularly admitted" female member, Rachel Lloyd. Lloyd is believed to be the first American woman to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry. She is known for introducing a beet sweetening agent as a sugar substitute.

The American Chemical Society celebrates its 25th anniversary with over 1,900 members.

Chemical Abstracts debuts as a comprehensive, separate journal of abstracts, later becoming Chemical Abstracts Service, and now CAS.

The American Chemical Society creates its first five divisions, including:

• Agricultural & Food Chemistry
• Industrial & Engineering Chemistry
• Organic Chemistry
• Physical Chemistry
• Fertilizer Chemistry

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson asks the American Chemical Society to help mobilize American manufacturing. Members from every U.S. state and territory are appointed to explore how the Society can better support the government in emergencies.

JACS institutes formal peer review to protect the rigor and fairness of the publication process.

The American Chemical Society establishes the Priestley Medal, its highest honor, named after Joseph Priestley, one of the discoverers of oxygen and a symbol of scientific freedom and discovery. The first Priestley Medal is awarded in September 1923.

The American Chemical Society begins publishing the Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN) magazine.

U.S. President Calvin Coolidge meets with members of the American Chemical Society on the White House Lawn.

The Examinations Committee begins as a project of the Division of Chemical Education, and releases the first American Chemical Society Exam in General Chemistry in 1934. Renamed the Examinations Institute in 1984, it continues to shape chemical education today.

U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Public Act No. 358, officially granting the American Chemical Society a federal charter. Formal operations under the charter begin in January 1938.

Universal Oil Products Co. (UOP) establishes a trust funded by its security holdings, designating the American Chemical Society as the sole beneficiary. The trust agreement stipulates that the Society must use all funds "for advanced scientific education and fundamental research in the petroleum field."

The American Chemical Society awards the first Petroleum Research Fund (PRF) grants, created from the renamed UOP trust fund to advance scientific education and fundamental research in the petroleum field.

CAS becomes a new division of the American Chemical Society.

The American Chemical Society establishes CAS Registry Numbers, which eliminate ambiguity in chemical naming by assigning a unique identifier to every substance described in scientific literature.

The American Chemical Society establishes Project SEED (Summer Experiences for the Economically Disadvantaged), providing summer research opportunities for economically disadvantaged high school students to gain hands-on experience by working alongside scientists.

The American Chemical Society, now with more than 110,000 members, celebrates its 100th anniversary. This milestone and the past 100 years of chemistry are celebrated throughout the year with special events, a commemorative issue of C&EN, and centennial mementos and collectibles. Representatives of more than 100 U.S. and international scientific organizations come for a ceremony held at the ACS meeting in New York City.

The American Chemical Society establishes CAS ONLINE, making it possible for users to search the CAS REGISTRY® database.

The American Chemical Society begins to sponsor the U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad.

The American Chemical Society celebrates the first National Chemistry Day.

The American Chemical Society creates the National Historic Chemical Landmarks Program. This program honors major achievements in chemistry that have shaped science and society. It designates discoveries, innovations, and sites as "Landmarks," marked with plaques and educational resources to preserve chemistry's heritage and inspire public appreciation.

The American Chemical Society awards the first National Historic Chemical Landmark to the Bakelizer, the steam pressure vessel used to commercialize the first completely synthetic plastic (Bakelite).

The first American Chemical Society International Chemical Sciences Chapter is created in Saudi Arabia (SAISCS-ACS). The SAISCS-ACS chapter was founded in 1988 and incorporated as a recognized American Chemical Society affiliate in 1993, adopting the same goals, objectives, and organizational purpose.

National Chemistry Day expands to National Chemistry Week, cementing the American Chemical Society's commitment to scientific outreach.

The American Chemical Society introduces CAS SciFinder, giving scientists access to CAS databases without needing to learn a command language.

Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN) Online debuts, introducing world-class science reporting to the internet.

The Petroleum Research Fund (PRF) Trust is officially transferred to the American Chemical Society, enabling the Society to strengthen existing research grant programs and explore new ones.

The Green Chemistry Institute, initially founded as an independent nonprofit in 1997, officially becomes part of the American Chemical Society.

The American Chemical Society hosts the first Chemists Celebrate Earth Day (CCED), which was later renamed to Chemists Celebrate Earth Week (CCEW).

The American Chemical Society and Disney Institute work together to offer "Everyday Chemistry" at Epcot. This program uses simple activities and resources to show how chemistry connects to daily life, making science fun and accessible for students and educators.

The Amercian Chemical Society establishes the Award for Affordable Green Chemistry, recognizing the discovery of eco-friendly chemistries with the potential to enable products or manufacturing processes that are less expensive than existing alternatives.

The American Chemical Society receives a gift of approximately $33 million from the Hach Scientific Foundation to continue the Foundation's programs and complement pre-existing resources, and renames the headquarters building in honor of Clifford and Kathryn Hach. The ACS-Hach Programs provide financial support to high school chemistry teachers across the U.S.

The American Chemical Society announces the first class of ACS Fellows.

The American Chemical Society initiates the CAS Future Leaders Program. The program is a professional development initiative that selects early-career scientists for leadership training, networking, and skill-building to advance their careers and impact in science.

The American Association of Chemistry Teachers (AACT) is established to support and serve K–12 chemistry teachers.

The American Chemical Society's Publications Division launches its first fully open access journal — ACS Central Science — as a diamond open access publication, led by future Nobel Laureate, Professor Carolyn Bertozzi.

Professor Erick Carreira is named Editor-in-Chief of JACS, becoming the first Editor-in-Chief of the Society's flagship journal who resides outside the U.S.

The American Chemical Society celebrates the first Chemical Technical Professionals (CTP) day, honoring and sharing resources for these professionals across the chemical industry.

ACS celebrates its 150th anniversary on Founding Day — marking a century and a half of advancing chemistry and serving the global scientific community.