AMORC headquarters were located in New York City, San Francisco, and Tampa, Florida, before moving to San Jose, California, in 1927. Harvey Spencer Lewis died in 1939 and, in accordance with wishes stipulated in his will, was succeeded in the Office of Imperator by his son Ralph Maxwell Lewis, who had previously served as Supreme Secretary. Upon Lewis' death in 1987, Gary L. Stewart, who previously served as Grand Master of the English-Speaking jurisdiction and then Vice President of AMORC's Board of Directors, was appointed by the Board, which forms the Supreme Grand Lodge, to the Office of Imperator. In 1990, Christian Bernard, who had been the Grand Master of France, and then succeeded Stewart to the position of Vice President of the Board, was elected by the Board to the Office of Imperator.