The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), founded in 1848, is the world's largest general scientific society. It serves 262 affiliated societies and academies of science and engineering, representing 10 million individuals worldwide. It is publisher of the journal Science, which has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world and an estimated total readership of 1 million. AAAS fulfills its mission to "advance science and serve society" through initiatives in science policy; international programs; science education; communication; and more. It is a non-profit organization, with membership open to everyone. AAAS presidents serve a one-year term, beginning in mid-February at the close of the AAAS Annual Meeting. In accordance with the convention used by the AAAS, presidents are referenced based on the year in which they left office. The presidential term is preceded by a one-year term as president-elect, and followed by a one-year term as chair of the AAAS Board of Directors. List of presidents 1848: William C. Redfield 1849: Joseph Henry 1850: Alexander Dallas Bache 1851: Louis Agassiz 1852: Benjamin Peirce 1853: Presidency Vacant 1854: James D. Dana 1855: John Torrey 1856: James Hall 1857: Alexis Caswell 1857: Jacob Whitman Bailey 1858: Jeffries Wyman 1859: Stephen Alexander 1860: Isaac Lea 1861-5: Presidency vacant 1866: F. A. P. Barnard 1867: J. S. Newberry 1868: Benjamin A. Gould 1869: J. W. Foster 1870: T. Sterry Hunt 1870: William Chauvenet 1871: Asa Gray 1872: J. Lawrence Smith 1873: Joseph Lovering 1874: John L. LeConte 1875: Julius Erasmus Hilgard 1876: William B. Rogers 1877: Simon Newcomb 1878: Othniel Charles Marsh 1879: George F. Barker 1880: Lewis H. Morgan 1881: George J. Brush 1882: J. W. Dawson 1883: Charles A. Young 1884: J. P. Lesley 1885: H. A. Newton 1886: Edward S. Morse 1887: Samuel P. Langley 1888: John Wesley Powell 1889: T. C. Mendenhall 1890: George L. Goodale 1891: Albert B. Prescott 1892: Joseph LeConte 1893: William Harkness 1894: Daniel G. Brinton 1895: Edward W. Morley 1896: Theodore Gill 1896: Edward Drinker Cope 1897: Oliver Wolcott Gibbs 1897: W J McGee (Acting President) 1898: Frederic Ward Putnam 1899: Grove Karl Gilbert 1899: Marcus Benjamin 1899: Edward Francis Orton 1900: R. S. Woodward 1901: Charles S. Minot 1902: Ira Remsen 1902: Asaph Hall 1903: Carroll D. Wright 1904: W. G. Farlow 1905: Calvin M. Woodward 1906: William H. Welch 1907: E. L. Nichols 1908: Thomas C.