The American Journal of Science (AJS), founded in 1818 by Benjamin Silliman, is the oldest scientific journal in the United States that has been published continuously. The Journal is devoted to geology and related sciences and publishes articles from around the world presenting results of major research from all earth sciences. Readers are primarily earth scientists in academia and government institutions. AJS had an impact factor of 3.607 for 2003, ranking first for all peer-reviewed earth sciences journals publishing new content (ranking does not include journals that focus on review articles).