such an institution. Neither his plans for a new museum nor any of the 
others put forth during his administration were successful, however.?® 
Although not as sensational as the creation of a museum would 
have been, the Academy did accomplish one task it considered impor- 
tant: in 1936 the members voted to change the constitution and by-laws. 
The new constitution resulted from a year-long study conducted by the 
Council and a special committee. The most significant change was the 
addition of an article calling for the formation of a Board of Trustees 
as part of the Academy’s governing body. Members of the Board were 
chosen in 1937 and charged with handling the Academy’s finances and 
property. With the formation of the Board of Trustees, the Academy 
felt confident that it had removed ‘‘the last obstacle towards acquiring 
a new home”’ and that its financial situation would be vastly improved.?9 
One of the first Board members, Father James B. Macelwane, 
served as the Academy’s president from 1937 until 1939. Macelwane 
was born in Ohio in 1883. After attending high school, he entered the 
Society of Jesus in 1903. Macelwane came to St. Louis in 1908 and 
received his undergraduate degree from St. Louis University two years 
later. He earned his M.S. in 1912 and after that taught physics at St. 
Louis University while at the same time studying theology. He was or- 
dained to the Catholic priesthood in 1918. 
In 1921 Macelwane entered the University of California at Berkeley 
and received his doctorate in physics, mathematics, and seismology two 
years later. After completing his doctoral program, Macelwane accepted 
the position of Assistant Professor of Geology at Berkeley and served 
as director of the seismographic stations at Berkeley and Mount 
Hamilton. 
Macelwane returned to St. Louis in 1925 as Professor of Geophysics 
and Director of the new Department of Geophysics, which he organized, 
at St. Louis University. 
At various times Macelwane served as director of the Central Sta- 
tion of the Jesuit Seismological Association and also as president of 
that organization. He was twice elected to the presidency of the 
Seismological Society of America. Furthermore, he was active in 
American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American 
Geophysical Union and frequently served as an officer of various other 
prominent professional science societies. 3° 
Father Macelwane’s successor to the Academy presidency was 
Arthur Henry Timmerman, who was elected in 1939. Timmerman was 
an engineer who received his education at Cornell University. He taught 
physics at Washington University in St. Louis in 1893. After a year 
there, Timmerman moved to Rolla, Missouri, to teach physics and elec- 
trical engineering at the School of Mines. He came back to St. Louis 
48 
