Celebrating 75 Years of F&S

Celebrating 75 Years of F&S

Part 1: The Founding Vision: Building a Home for Reproductive Science

In January of 1950, as the field of reproductive medicine was just beginning to take shape, the official journal of the American Society for the Study of Sterility (now ASRM) rolled off the presses.

The Society had been formed just six years prior and the group of pioneering physicians and scientists were now coming together to fill a critical gap: the need for a centralized, peer-reviewed platform to share discoveries in fertility, endocrinology, and reproductive biology. At the time, the concept of infertility as a clinical condition deserving focused research and medical attention was still emerging. Treatments were limited, and the science of human reproduction was fragmented across disciplines.

The group recognized that to drive progress, the field needed a publication dedicated entirely to the scientific exploration of human fertility, infertility, and reproductive health. The inaugural issue of Fertility and Sterility was published in January 1950 under the editorial leadership of Dr. Pendleton Tompkins.

Tompkins, a leading gynecologist and researcher of his time, was known for his pioneering work in female reproductive anatomy and surgical innovation. He had a deep commitment to both scientific rigor and social responsibility, as reflected in his inaugural editorial letter. In it, he argued that the overabundance of medical literature justified the journal's existence, as it was nearly impossible for specialists to sift through tens of thousands of articles each year. A focused journal could consolidate the most relevant work in a single, reliable source.

Tompkins envisioned Fertility and Sterility as a multidisciplinary journal that would serve "anatomists, embryologists, endocrinologists, geneticists, gynecologists, obstetricians, pathologists, physiologists, urologists, and veterinarians."

What began as a thoughtful response to scattered scholarship has become a pillar of reproductive medicine, and this collaborative spirit continues to be a beacon for social and academic progress.

Seventy-five years later after it was first published, Fertility and Sterility remains a cornerstone of the field of reproductive medicine. Publishing world-class science, asking hard questions, and still driven by the founding vision: to bring clarity, collaboration, and purpose to the ever-evolving science of human reproduction.

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