Early Conventions
Revision as of 08:08, 28 September 2021 by Leah Zeldes Smith (talk | contribs)
The first ten years of SF conventions were a mixed bag, but even the largest was small by modern standards, and some were literally a few guys getting together for a day. But travel was difficult and the tendency of the time was to call nearly any planned get-together of fans from different cities a "convention" (Or a "conference". See the Fancyclopedia 2 article on “con” for the baroque early terminology.)
Anglofan historians tend to take a a hard line on what was or wasn’t a convention (they would omit the First Convention if they could). We are inclined to take the participants’ estimation, even if they declared conhood after the event.
Year | Date | Convention | Attendance | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1936 | October 22, 1936 | First Convention | 10-20 | Philadelphia | later called the First Eastern |
1937 | January 3, 1937 | Other First Convention | ~20 | Leeds, UK | |
February 21, 1937 | Second Eastern | 30-40 | New York | ||
October 30, 1937 | Third Eastern | Philadelphia | |||
1938 | April 10, 1938 | Second British Convention | (aka Necronomicon) | ||
May 29, 1938 | Newark Convention | >100 | Newark, NJ | aka Fourth Eastern aka First National | |
October 16, 1938 | 1938 Philadelphia Conference | > 2 dozen | Philadelphia | ||
1939 | 1939 | Third British Convention | London | ||
July 2-4, 1939 | NyCon I | 150-200 | New York | the first Worldcon | |
Fall 1939 | Philcon 1939 | Philadelphia | |||
Early June 1939 | OSA Pow-Wow | 3 | Tulsa, OK | Oklahoma state convention | |
1940 | April 1940 | Third Chicago Conference | 4 | Chicago | |
May 4, 1940 | All-Eastern Science Fiction Conference | Newark, NJ | May not have been held | ||
September 1-2, 1940 | Chicon I | 128 | Chicago | ||
November 10, 1940 | Phillycon 1940 | Philadelphia | |||
1941 | late February 1941 | Boskone I | ~25 | Winchester, MA | at the Swishers’ home |
July 4-6, 1941 | Denvention I | ~100 | Denver | ||
September 20-21, 1941 | Bombcon | 13 | London | ||
November 16, 1941 | 1941 Michiconference | Jackson, MI | |||
1942 | February 22, 1942 | Boskone II | 25 | Boston, MA | |
September 27, 1942 | 1942 Michiconference | ~25 | Jackson, MI | ||
November 29, 1942 | Hastings S-F Conference | v. small | Hastings, MN | possibly a drinking party | |
November 22, 1942 | Bloomington Conference | 9 | Bloomington, IL | possibly a poker game | |
Late 1942 | Pacificon Jr. | Los Angeles, CA | |||
1943 | February 28, 1943 | Boskone III | 14 | Boston, MA | |
Spring 1943 | Midgicon | 10? | Chicago | ||
Spring 1943 | Live Oak Conference | 3 | Live Oak, FL | ||
Easter 1943 | Midvention | Leicester, UK | |||
May 16, 1943 | Staplecon 1 | ~12 | San Francisco | ||
Summer 1943 | MeCon | 3 | Rockland, ME | ||
mid 1943 | Mainecon Jr. | 2 | Maine | somewhere in Maine... | |
mid 1943 | Schenectacon | 2-4 | Schenectady, NY | ||
October 30, 1943 | 1943 Michiconference | 22 | Battle Creek, MI | ||
November 21, 1943 | Staplecon 2 | San Francisco | |||
"around the end" 1943 | Fancon | Bloomington, IL | |||
December 31, 1943-January 2, 1944 | Norcon | small | Manchester, UK | ||
1944 | April 8-9, 1944 | Eastercon | London | ||
May 28, 1944 | Staplecon 3 | 9 | San Francisco | ||
June 17-19, 1944 | Michicon 4 | 23 | Battle Creek, MI | ||
August 27, 1944 | Dovention | 11 | Dover, NJ | ||
September 1–2, 1944 | Midvention 2 | Leicester, UK | |||
October 7-9, 1944 | Little Chicon | "small" | Chicago | ||
December 29, 1944–January 1, 1945 | Norcon 2 | small | Manchester, UK | Announced — did it occur? | |
1945 | February 3-4, 1945 | Boskone IV | 5 | Winchester, MA | at the Swishers’ home |
July 7-8, 1945 | 1945 Michiconference | 15-20 | Battle Creek, MI | ||
September 2, 1945 | Boskone V | 9 | Salem, MA | AKA First New England SF Conference | |
1946 | March 3, 1946 | FPWESFC | Newark, NJ | ||
April 6–7, 1946 | First Post-Radar-Contact-with-the-Moon Con | 16 | Chicago | ||
August 30–September 1, 1946 | Pacificon I | 130 | Los Angeles | ||
October 12–13, 1946 | Centracon | 25 | Chicago | ||
October 27, 1946 | Phillycon 1946 | Philadelphia |
See the Fancyclopedia 2 article on Conventions.
Fanhistory | 1936—1946 |
This is a fanhistory page. Please add more detail. |