European Society for Evolutionary Biology (ESEB)

Some History and General Information

The European Society for Evolutionary Biology (ESEB) was founded on 28 August 1987 in Basel (Switzerland), with about 450 evolutionary biologists attending the inaugural congress of the Society; Arthur Cain became the Society’s first president. The founding of the ESEB was closely linked to the launching of the Society’s journal, the Journal of Evolutionary Biology, with Stephen C. Stearns as the first Editor in Chief, and the first issue appearing in January 1988. See the editorial opening of the journal (or view the pdf); see also Steve Stearns’ account of the early days of the ESEB.

Since its foundation, the ESEB has grown and matured, with currently more than 2000 members, while the Journal of Evolutionary Biology became a major journal in the field. This reflects the growth of the evolutionary biology community in Europe and beyond, which the Society helped to foster.
Since 2009, ESEB is registered as a Public Benefit organisation in The Netherlands under the tax number: 8080.77.223.

The success of the ESEB would not be possible without many members who devoted their time and effort to the Society and the journal: elected officers, congress organizers, members of the council, committees, and the editorial board of the journal.

Constitution

General Members’ Meeting

Every two years all members of the Society are invited to the General members’ Meeting, which takes place during the biennial ESEB congress. The meeting minutes are publicly available:

ESEB