In the Beginning...

Physical Review was founded at Cornell University in 1893, by two professors, Edward L. Nichols and Ernest Merritt. Both were educated in Germany, and were familiar with the differences in publications abroad. They were enthusiastic about the idea of an American publication devoted entirely to physics. They fortunately had the full support of the then President of Cornell, J. Gould Shurman, who arranged for an initial grant of {\$}500, and eventually, for a first year total of {\$}2500. The founding editors were soon joined by Frederick Bedell, who remained an Editor into the 1920's. This talk will follow the progress (and otherwise) of the journal through the formation of the American Physical Society in 1899 and the transfer of its operation from Cornell to the APS in 1913.