Founded in 1920 by Admiral Mark L. Bristol, American Hospital was the first non-profit private hospital of Turkey. The early Hospital was subsidized by the Red Cross and began service in a wooden mansion. At the time, the hospital was located in the historical peninsula of Istanbul and was owned by a New York based company called "American Hospital of Istanbul Inc". In 1939, the Hospital moved to its current location, in Nisantasi, a historical, yet renovated high profile area in the city center of Istanbul.