The 125th anniversary of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery marks a unique achievement in orthopaedics, one that stems from the support of the orthopaedic community, the efforts of reviewers and editorial board members, the insights and achievements of authors of research reports, dedicated and talented staff members, and a unifying insistence on high standards across the decades.

The publication of what is now The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery began in 1889, in a volume that contained papers presented at the American Orthopaedic Association (AOA) meetings in the two prior years. The name, Transactions of the American Orthopedic Association, was changed in 1903 to the American Journal of Orthopedic Surgery. In 1919, following World War I, through which American and British orthopaedists had worked closely together, the American Journal of Orthopedic Surgery became the official journal of the British Orthopaedic Association. The word “American” was dropped, and the journal became the Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery. The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery took its current name in 1922.

The AOA had ownership of JBJS and its predecessors from the beginning. Even though the AOA continued to own JBJS, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), at its inception in 1933, named JBJS an official publication of the AAOS. In 1948, to further friendship and professional relationships with the British orthopaedic community, separate volumes of The Journal were established, resulting in JBJS-Am and JBJS-Br titles. In 1954, the AOA and AAOS relinquished ownership of The Journal, establishing JBJS, Inc., as an independent, nonprofit organization, which it remains today.