[5] The American Physical Society was founded on May 20, 1899, when thirty-six physicists gathered at Columbia University for that purpose.

In 1913, the APS took over the operation of the Physical Review, which had been founded in 1893 at Cornell University, and journal publication became its second major activity.

Six forums reflect the interests of its fifty thousand members[6] in broader issues, and nine sections organized by geographical region.

For legal reasons, the planned name change was eventually abandoned by the APS Executive Board.

[15] The APS Bridge Program aims to increase the number of underrepresented minority students that earn doctoral degrees in physics.

The program names doctoral and master's degree-granting institutions as Bridge Sites and awards them National Science Foundation funding to prepare post-baccalaureate students for doctoral studies through additional coursework, mentoring, research, application coaching, and GRE preparation.

[16] Formerly called the APS Corporate Sponsored Scholarship Program for Minority Undergraduate Students Who Major in Physics, this scholarship was established in 1980 with the goal of increasing the number of underrepresented minorities receiving bachelor's degrees in physics.

[20] The APS has had a long-standing interest in improving the climate in physics departments for underrepresented minorities and women.

As part of this effort, it maintains an educational website, PhysicsCentral; offers grants to help APS members develop educational programs; and runs the Historic Physics Sites Initiative, which identifies and commemorates important historic physics sites in the United States.