Under the direction of John Cairns, the 31st Symposium, The Genetic Code, was held June 2-9, 1966. In the CSHLQB Annual Report for that year, Dr. Cairns reported, "The Symposium was the first international meeting expressly devoted to the code itself, and the book that results will constitute the most authoritative account of the code." It was the largest meeting held at Cold Spring Harbor at that time for the number of attendees and papers presented. The introduction, titled "The Genetic Code: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow," was given by Francis Crick.