The American Institute of Physics has ended its fourth decade in a year of economic turmoil for science—one accompanied by an abruptly dismal job market for physics PhD's and by concern about unemployment and underemployment of physicists generally. Let us here review the contributions, education and employment of physicists during AIP's 40 years, so as to place the 1970 experiences in perspective and so understand them better. This perspective will allow us to look at the future of physics and physicists with the insight we need if we are to avoid a repetition of the current difficulties.