EAA was founded in 1953 as a support organization for people who were building their own recreational aircraft (homebuilders). Homebuilding is still a large part of EAA, but the organization has grown over the years to include almost every aspect of Aviation and Aeronautics.
EAA was founded by Paul Poberezny. Today the organization is run by his son, Tom Poberezny. Paul still works with EAA as its Chairman of the Board.
Each summer EAA presents the largest, annual aviation event in the world, 'AirVenture Oshkosh', also known as the Oshkosh Airshow.