Rarely in our lifetimes do we have the opportunity to meet an extraordinary individual who transcends what we expect, aspire to, do, or succeed in our daily lives. Such a person touches, influences, and changes us in different ways, under different circumstances, and at different times. But, always, that person somehow makes us better, helps us achieve greater heights, and teaches us how to be a nicer human being. Those of us who have been in the field of aging have had the good fortune of meeting, knowing, interacting, and learning from one such individual—David H. Solomon, MD. In this supplement issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, the editors give homage and pay tribute to Dr. Solomon for his enormous contributions to geriatrics and gerontology as part of the celebration of his 80th birthday. Dr. Solomon had an extraordinarily successful academic career as an endocrinologist—with his pioneering work in thyroid diseases—and as chairman of a department of internal medicine at one of the finest universities in the United States. After “retiring” from his chairmanship, Dr. Solomon returned to one of his original areas of academic endeavors—the field of aging. He immersed himself with his usual energy, enthusiasm, and commitment in a variety of areas in geriatrics and gerontology. Dr. Solomon's own interest in thyroid disease helped pave the way for his contributions toward understanding the clinical subtleties and nuances of hyper- and hypothyroidism in the elderly. After taking a sabbatical in the early 1980s at RAND in Santa Monica, California, Dr. Solomon focused on the issue of lack of sufficient geriatricians to care for the rapidly growing aging population in the United States. He later dedicated his efforts to assessing and developing new methods to measure the quality of care for vulnerable older adults. More recently, Dr. Solomon has provided the leadership on a major project supported by the American Geriatrics Society and the Hartford Foundation to increase geriatrics expertise in the surgical and related medical specialties. Despite this multitude of academic contributions and endeavors in geriatrics, Dr. Solomon still managed to find time to develop the Center on Aging at the University of California at Los Angeles campus, and become its first director. In addition, Dr. Solomon was editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society from 1988 to 1993. And all of these activities in geriatrics and gerontology began around the young age of 60! To recognize his extraordinary contributions to the field of aging during the past 20 years, the Journal is devoting this special supplement issue to honoring Dr. Solomon. The editors have invited noted authors to contribute an article in one of the five areas of contributions made by Dr. Solomon in the field of aging: geriatric endocrinology, geriatric manpower and training, quality of care of older adults, general surgery and aging, and geriatric urology. In addition, the editors have contributed a brief biography of Dr. Solomon. Finally, to recognize Dr. Solomon in a more personal manner, an 80th birthday celebration was held on March 8, 2003, (March 7 is his actual birthday) at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel in Santa Monica, California. Dinner, special tributes, and gifts were part of a wonderful evening for a truly great person. Family, friends, and colleagues in geriatrics and gerontology honored and thanked Dr. Solomon for his contributions to aging and, equally important, for his positive influence on the lives of many who have been fortunate and privileged to know this fine and humble human being.