The Journal was founded in 1975 by John C. Gibbings at the University of Liverpool (UK). During the early 1970's, revitalized interest in the subject of electrostatics had been experienced, due in part to a series of disastrous supertanker vessel explosions which were found to have been ignited by electrostatic discharges. Thus, early issues of the journal contained some important papers reporting investigations of these incidents. Gibbings served as Editor until his retirement in 1984, when D. Keith Davies took over editorial responsibilities. In 1992, Davies stepped down and Thomas B. Jones (Rochester, NY, USA) became Editor. For most of the year 2000, S. Edward Law (Athens, GA, USA) served as Acting Editor while Jones was on academic leave at Kyoto University.

In the first pages of the inaugural issue, Dr. Gibbings, whose picture is shown just above, eloquently articulated his goals and aspirations for the new endeavor with the following policy statement.

"I make no apologies for the introduction of a new journal; those who complain about the proliferation of scientific exposition are, in truth, protesting against publication of the trivial and of that already known. If this reality is not to be pursued, then the protesters are advocating a halt to the growth of Science, for the conclusion of all Science is its availability to man. A policy of the Journal of Electrostatics is to seek out that of real value in both quality and originality of study.

The Journal will disseminate knowledge of static electricity in its fundamental aspects, in its useful applications, and in its hazardous nature.

A purpose of the Journal is to publish papers on electrostatics which at the moment have to be distributed amongst many journals of greatly varied basic interests. Thus it is hoped to serve the subject by bringing together workers on its many facets. It is intended to cover the interests of, amongst others, physicists, chemical, electrical, and aeronautical engineers, chemists, and those working in medicine, biology, and meteorology.

It is desired that contributions will result in the contents, as a whole, forming a balance of electrostatics between physics in its most general connotation, analytical studies of that physics, and applications to engineering practice. As examples, the Editors would welcome contributions on the fundamental aspects of the subject such as field problems; on electrostatic effects in solids such as plastics, powders and textiles, in liquids, both stationary and in motion, this latter to include the effects of spray electrification, and in gases such as plasmas; on electrostatic machines; on electrohydrodynamics; on effects in biological materials; and on instrumentation for measurements of static-electricity phenomena.

The bulk of the contents of the Journal will be comprised of Papers, each making a worthwhile contribution to the subject. Occasionally these will be supplemented by a Review, each one being commissioned.

Short Communications will also be welcomed as forming a valuable part of the contents. These could comprise either notes on work in progress or be reports of valuable though brief investigations complete in themselves. They could also describe newly discovered hazardous situations, new experimental techniques, and developments in instrumentation.

Other items, to which it is hoped readers will contribute, will be notes on recently prepared translations and notices of major national and international conferences. In all this, controversy is not to be shunned in principle, for with courtesy, it can lead the way to the truth of a matter."

J.C. Gibbings Liverpool Michaelmas Term 1974