The Anaesthetists’ Travel Club was founded by Dr. John S. Lundy in 1929. He wanted to organize a meeting of leading anesthetists in the United States and Canada to discuss problems pertaining to the specialty.

The first meeting was held in Rochester, Minnesota from December 16-21, 1929. It continued under his personal influence, meeting annually through 1941.

With the intervention of World War II, meetings were suspended through 1951. Dr. Lundy then decided to reorganize the Anaesthetists’ Travel club and rename it the Academy of Anesthesiology. With his guidance, Dr. Roland J. Whitacre framed a proposed constitution and bylaws. These were introduced at the last meeting of the Anaesthetists’ Travel Club, in 1952, and unanimously adopted.

The Inaugural Meeting of the Academy of Anesthesiology was held in October 1954. It was decided that membership should be by invitation only. The number of active members was limited to “a maximum of 60”, plus “senior”, non-voting members. A substantial portion of the dues were contributed annually to the Anesthesia Foundation (formerly the Anesthesia Memorial Foundation).

As proposed by Dr. Lundy, the Academy produced a “Directory” of its members. This consisted of one or more pages of biographical and career information about each member, including a photograph and bibliography.

Photograph of members of the Anaesthetists’ Travel Club from 1933. Dr. John S. Lundy is seated in the center.