 On March 28, 1919, the American Welding Society was born for that purpose, with Adams serving as its first President.That first year the Society grew to 217 members; introduced the Journal of the American Welding Society, a technical publication with a life of one issue, but the precursor of the Welding Journal; found a home in the Engineering Societies Building in New York City; and established the foundation of the committee system for the production of its operating procedures and industry standards on welding.In 1920, the first local Section was organized in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.