Our History

The American Thyroid Association (ATA), celebrating its Centennial in 2023, has been dedicated to advancing thyroid health since its inception. The ATA’s membership is comprised of dedicated researchers, clinicians and surgeons from around the world.

ATA was founded on December 9, 1923 when the Illinois Clinical Club met in Bloomington and established a new organization called “The American Association for the Study of Goiter.”   The first official meeting of The American Association for the Study of Goiter was held January 23-25, 1924 at St. Joseph’s Hospital.   In 1959, the association was incorporated in the New York State as the American Goiter Association, and in 1961 the name was officially changed to the American Thyroid Association.

Supporting scholarly research and the exchange of information is core to the ATA’s mission. In 1990, the American Thyroid Association worked with Mary Ann Liebert Publishers to create the peer-reviewed journal Thyroid®. In 1988, Clinical Thyroidology was established to highlight interesting papers about thyroid disorders that have been recently published in the medical literature and in 2008, Clinical Thyroidology for the Public was established to summarize these articles for the general public in laymen’s terms. Finally, in an effort to offer peer-reviewed videos, VideoEndocrinology was created in 2014.

If you’re interested in learning more about the ATA’s history, be sure to visit the Clark T Sawin History Resource Center which offers in-depth details on the ATA’s history.

Centennial

In 2023, the ATA Celebrated its Centennial.  In celebration of the Centennial, the following historical resources were developed:

For more on the ATA’s history, view these resources: