The founding of the Biophysical Society was the outgrowth of the initiative of the  Committee of Four, composed of Samuel A. Talbot, Chairman, Kenneth S. Cole, Ernest C. Pollard and Otto H. Schmitt, elected by a group of interested scientists at the Federation Meeting in Atlantic City, April, 1956. This Committee, assisted by Ralph W. Stacy, Local Arrangements Chairman and Herman P. Schwan, Publicity Chairman, organized and administered the First National Biophysics Conference held in Columbus, Ohio, March 4-6, 1957. At the business meeting held during this conference, presided over by Max A. Lauffer, the decision was made to organize the Biophysical Society and a Temporary Council was elected. The Temporary Council later elected Robley C. Williams as its President, adopted the Constitution and Bylaws of  the Society, developed by a committee chaired by Max A. Lauffer, formulated a temporary plan of operation for the first year of the Society, prepared  a slate of officers for the first year and planned, with Cyrus Levinthal as Program Chairman and Arthur K. Solomon as Local Arrangements Chairman, the second meeting of the Biophysical Society held early in 1958 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. At this meeting, the recommendations of the  Temporary Council were accepted, the Constitution and Bylaws were ratified and the proposed slate of officers elected, thereby formally founding the Biophysical Society.