A Brief History of the American Glaucoma Society

As the American Glaucoma Society was founded in late 1985 and just celebrated its 20th Anniversary, it is timely and appropriate to provide a brief summary of the Society¹s history. Although Drs. Douglas Anderson and Jonathan Herschler had organized the very successful Annual North American Glaucomatologists¹ Learning Ensemble (ANGLE) in the 1970s to provide in-depth focus on glaucoma research topics of mutual interest, insightful members of the glaucoma community felt that an additional forum for both clinical and scientific interchange among glaucoma specialists was needed.

In 1984, Drs. Max Forbes and Bruce Shields began to discuss the concept of an American Glaucoma Society. Drs. George Spaeth and Richard Simmons subsequently were persuaded to join in formalizing this concept and helping organize the American Glaucoma Society. Nine other leading members of the glaucoma community also were recruited to participate in this endeavor.