FSC-40 International Academy of Aviation Medicine

Introduction

The records of the IAASM were accessioned at Fordham Special Collections in 1995 having been received as a special shipment from Air France. Wright State University Professor Stanley Mohler, Director of the Aerospace Medicine Department of the School of Medicine, was instrumental in securing the collection for the Special Collections and Archives Department, having also secured the records of the Aerospace Medicine Association, a related collection.

The Academy's records consist of some 17 cubic feet of material arranged in 36 hollinger boxes. They are arranged in series as follows:

• Series 1: Founding, Historical, and Constitutional Records 1952-1996
• Series 2:  Meetings, 1955-1986
• Series 3: Records of Secretary-General Andre Allard
• Series 4: Copies of Records of Secretary-General LaFontaine, 1971-1977
• Series 5: Copies of Records of Secretary-General Peter Vaughan, 1977-1979
• Series 6: Publications, Reprints, Reports, and Photographs

History and Administration

The International Academy of Aviation and Space Medicine was founded as an elected honorary society for aerospace medicine professionals in 1955. From the beginning, the Academy's requirements for election to membership have been exceedingly stringent. The Academy's international character is emphasized by the requirement that all documentation be provided for members in both French and English. The Academy is administered through the offices of an elected Secretary General who handles all routine correspondence, membership and meeting questions, and the academy's finances. Between 1955 and 1988, there were eight Secretaries-General with the longest term served by physician Andre Allard (term 1959-1970), the chief medical officer for the Belgian airline Sabena. Since its inception, the Secretariat has been located in America, Belgium, Canada and France.

Eligibility requirements for Academy membership are of the highest order. At any given time, membership is restricted to not more than 250 members selected from all countries without regard for candidates' political beliefs or the politics of their countries of origin. Consequently, membership provided a sometimes rare opportunity for an exchange of knowledge across the political boundaries that existed during the Cold War and this is evident in much of the correspondence between the Secretaries-General and the members from eastern European nations.

In 1960, specific requirements for membership stipulated that members must be over 40 years of age; must be a medical graduate; must have made an eminent contribution to aviation medicine; and must be working practitioners with more than 15 years experience in the field of aviation medicine. Only on meeting these and other difficult requirements is a candidate eligible for election by secret ballot of the Academy's Board of Selectors. Members tend to be preeminent as either academic researchers in the field, as the chief medical officers for national airlines, or as the highest ranking medical officer in a national air force.

Meetings are held twice a year with a principal annual meeting held during the annual meeting of the International Congress of Aviation Medicine. Meetings have been held on all continents with locations as disparate as Acapulco and Helsinki. From time to time the Academy awards its highest honor, a gold medal, to a laureate for distinguished contributions related to the field of aerospace medicine. Past laureates have included Sir Frederic Charles Bartlett and Dr. Hermann Fischgold. The first such laureate was American physician Dr. Stanley White. The second laureate was Dr. Vladimir Yazdowsky of the U.S.S.R. Laureates do not have to be members of the Academy.

Scope and Contents

The records of the International Academy of Aviation and Space Medicine reflect the prestigious international character of its membership. Much of the earliest correspondence is written in French. Official communications are issued in both French and English. Very little information was discarded during processing with the exception of unsolicited mail from the convention boards of cities desperate to attract a meeting of the Academy. In general, the records consist of correspondence, minutes, a small quantity of financial records, a few portrait photographs of members or laureates, and a series of publications. Besides the sometimes extensive correspondence with members, the most important series is the continuous record of semi-annual meetings held between 1955 and the early 1980's.

Counting the Academy's meetings is somewhat complicated due to the practice of holding meetings during the annual meetings of the International Congress of Aerospace Medicine. For instance, the first meeting of the International Academy of Aviation and Space Medicine was held during the fourth meeting of the International Congress in Paris in 1955. In 1965 and 1970, the International Congresses scheduled to be held in West Germany and Poland respectively, were annulled for reasons which are not apparent in the International Academy's records. Due to the subsequent numerical confusion, the Academy's meeting records have been divided into two sub-series, meetings of general assembly, and meetings held in conjunction with the International Congresses. Both sub-series are arranged chronologically.

The overall arrangement of the collection is chronological, however some series, particularly correspondence with members, are naturally arranged alphabetically. At the present time, the Academy's archival records cover the period from 1955 through the early 1980's with the majority of the records dating from the secretariat of Dr. Andre Allard during the 1960's. Allard's records are extensive and apparently complete. Hopefully, additional archival records will be forthcoming from more recent secretaries-general.

An important sub-series among the Academy's early records are the original documents relating to the founding of the European Federation of Aviation and Space Medicine which took place during the fourth meeting of the Academy in Rome in 1959 held during the eighth meeting of the International Congress of Aerospace Medicine.

Beyond their immediate use for Academy history, the records provide useful documentation of an international professional society active during the height of the Cold War.

Series 1: Founding, Historical, and Constitutional Records

Series 2: Meetings

Sub-Series 1: General Assembly Meetings, 1955-1986

Series 2: Meetings

Sub-Series 2:International Congresses, 1962 -1991

Series 3: Records of Secretary-General Andre Allard

Sub-Series 1: General Correspondence

Series 3: Records of Secretary-General Andre Allard