The private, non-profit National Trust for Historic Preservation was formally established by charter through the Act of Congress when President Harry S. Truman signed the legislation on October 26, 1949. The charter provided that the Trust should acquire and preserve historic sites and objects of national significance and provide annual reports to Congress on its activities. Finley served as the National Trust's first chairman of the board, remaining in the position for 12 years. Archaeologist Richard Hubbard Howland became the nonprofit's first president in 1956.