Launching an Inspired Idea
"The first drudgery of settling new colonies is now pretty well over," wrote Benjamin Franklin in 1743, "and there are many in every province in circumstances that set them at ease, and afford leisure to cultivate the finer arts, and improve the common stock of knowledge." The scholarly society he advocated became a reality that year. By 1769 international acclaim for its accomplishments assured its permanence. Franklin's influence and the needs of American settlements led the Society in its early days to pursue equally "all philosophical Experiments that let Light into the Nature of Things, tend to increase the Power of Man over Matter, and multiply the Conveniencies or Pleasures of Life." Early members included doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and merchants interested in science, and also many learned artisans and tradesmen like Franklin. Many founders of the republic were members: George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Paine, Benjamin Rush, James Madison, and John Marshall; as were many distinguished foreigners: Lafayette, von Steuben, Kosciusko.
The Dimensions of Knowledge
In the eighteenth century natural philosophy, the study of nature, comprised the kinds of investigations now considered scientific and technological. Members of the American Philosophical Society encouraged America's economic independence by improving agriculture, manufacturing, and transportation. Greatly contributing to the Society's international fame was its participation in astronomical observations of the 1760s. With one of his telescopes, erected on a platform behind the State House (now Independence Hall), David Rittenhouse plotted the Transit of Venus, thus attracting the recognition of the scholarly world.
Francis Hopkinson, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and Samuel Vaughan, a recent immigrant, led the revival of the Society after the Revolution. In 1780 Pennsylvania had granted it a charter guaranteeing that the APS might correspond with learned individuals and institutions "of any nation or country" on its legitimate business at all times "whether in peace or war." The state also deeded to the Society a portion of present-day Independence Square, on which it erected Philosophical Hall in 1785-1789.
Learning and Freedom
The enlightened terms of the Society's charter and the location of Philosophical Hall adjacent to the seat of government clearly illustrate how closely the new nation linked learning and freedom, regarding each as the support and protection of the other.
Until about 1840 the APS, though a private organization, fulfilled many functions of a national academy of science, national library and museum, and even patent office. Accordingly, chiefs of staff, cabinet officers, and presidents often consulted the Society. Jefferson, and other members of the Society, instructed Lewis and Clark concerning the scientific, linguistic, and anthropological aspects of their impending exploration of the Louisiana Territory.
The Society served as the prototype for a number of other learned societies, and gave birth to specialized organizations for agriculture, chemistry, and history. For many years the Society's hall provided space for the University of Pennsylvania, Thomas Sully's studio, Charles Willson Peale's Museum, and several independent cultural and philanthropic organizations. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, the Society's interests were chiefly in the areas of American paleontology, geology, astronomical and meteorological observations, and Indian ethnology. The status of the APS is reflected in its membership. John J. Audubon, Robert Fulton, Charles Darwin, Thomas Edison, Alexander von Humboldt, and Louis Pasteur were members. The names of Albert Einstein, Robert Frost, George C. Marshall, and Linus Pauling hint at the scientific, humanistic, and public accomplishments of twentieth-century members. The Society first elected a woman in 1789 -- the Russian Princess Dashkova, president of the Imperial Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg. Elizabeth Cabot Cary Agassiz, Marie Curie, Gerty T. Cori, and Margaret Mead, are among other women elected.
Vitality and Growth
Vital new directions for research, meetings, and publications were implemented in the 1930s thanks to major gifts by R. A. F. Penrose, E. R. Johnson, and others. A research grant program began; it has invested large sums in many scientific endeavors. Although some projects received substantial sums, such as archaeological excavations of Tikal, Guatemala, most grants sponsor modest projects, helping to produce scholarly books and articles. Another program arose to help scientists beginning research careers in clinical medicine. One of these individuals, David Fraser, later led the U.S. Public Health Service investigation of Legionnaires' Disease. The Society currently supports five granting programs.
The Publications Program, which had maintained a journal and a monograph series, added a book series, the Memoirs, and a Year Book. During the 1930s growth required moving the Library into rented space in an adjacent building; in 1959 the APS erected a specially-designed facility, Library Hall. By 1981 expanded APS activities necessitated the purchase of a third building.
During World War II the APS broadcast a radio series on science to Europe. Following the war the Society helped lead the restoration of what became Independence National Historical Park. Scientists gathered at Philosophical Hall to consider the effects of atomic energy on the world. Other special conferences spawned practical new ideas, such as microfilm publishing.
In addition to recognizing superior accomplishments by election to membership, the Society awards special prizes and medals. Established in 1786, the Magellanic Premium for discoveries "relating to navigation, astronomy, or natural philosophy" is the oldest scientific prize given by an American institution. It has acknowledged the submarine circumnavigation of the globe and satellite space probes. The Barzun prize (est. 1992) recognizes contributions to American or European cultural history. The Franklin Medal (est. 1906), designed by A. and L. St. Gaudens, has been awarded, among others, to Eduard Benes, Charles Huggins and Otto Neugebauer. The Jefferson Medal (est. 1993) is awarded for distinguished achievement in the arts, humanities, or social sciences; the Lashley award (est. 1935) recognizes achievements in neurobiology; the Lewis award (est. 1935) honors a publication by the Society, and has been awarded to Enrico Fermi (1946), Millard Meiss (1967), and Kenneth Setton (1984), among others. The Moe (est. 1982) and Phillips (est. 1888) prizes honor papers in the humanities and jurisprudence.
APS Buildings
The buildings that house the collections and offices of the APS are as fascinating as they are beautiful. Click on the links below for detailed profiles and images.
| Philosophical Hall | Library Hall | Franklin Hall |
Membership
Election to the APS honors extraordinary accomplishments in all fields. Presently, there are over 900 members around the world, though 85% of the membership resides in the United States. In the course of the twentieth century, over 200 members of the Society have received the Nobel Prize.
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Meetings
Meetings of the Society are held annually in April and November, with attendance averaging several hundred members and distinguished guests. Papers presented at these meetings, and the discussions that follow, explore topics in both the sciences and humanities, from underwater archaeology to nuclear magnetic imaging, from Shakespeare's writings to race relations in modern America. In addition to these regular meetings, the Society holds a number of smaller sessions for specialists to present papers focused on topics of particular interest: biological complexity, the way we choose our Presidents, and the protein as a science laboratory are some of the recent subjects of these sessions.
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Research
The APS sponsors five research grant/fellowship programs. The Franklin Grants Program is complemented by specialized programs for humanities and social science, clinical medicine, North American Indian linguistics and ethnohistory, and a library resident fellowship program for research in its collections. Grants average over $4,000 and the fellowships in clinical research reach $100,000. In 1933 the APS began its program for assisting the research of individual scholars. The first grant was made to Thomas C. Poulter of the Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition, to measure the depth of the polar ice cap. In the first six decades of the program, more than $16 million helped support the research of over 13,000 scholars and scientists. At present, grants and fellowships together total over $1,000,000 per year. Among others, grants were made to Lyman Butterfield for his edition of the Letters of Benjamin Rush, Tracy M. Sonneborn for work on sex inheritance and determination in ciliate protozoa, Samuel N. Kramer for work on the Sumerians, Herbert Gans for studying suburban life, Loren C. Eiseley for work on Darwin's Century, and Paula R. Backscheider for her biography of Daniel Defoe.
Publications
An introductory page in the first Transactions of the American Philosophical Society stated its goal, "The Promoting of useful Knowledge in general, and such branches thereof in particular... being the express purpose for which the American Philosophical Society was instituted; the publication of such curious and useful Papers as may, from time to time, be communicated to them, becomes of course, one material part of their design." Begun in 1771, the Transactions became in time a respected monograph series (five are presently published in a calendar year). From the eighteenth century to the present, authors include John Bartram, David Rittenhouse, Benjamin Silliman, Franz Boas, Otto Neugebauer, and Erica Reiner.
A quarterly journal, the Proceedings (begun in 1838) publishes papers delivered at the biannual meetings of the Society, and others submitted independently. In 1935 a third series, the Memoirs, was initiated for larger studies. Subject areas range from ancient ancient Egyptian science to modern-day Pennsylvania flora.
The Society has supported the publication of the papers of Benjamin Franklin, Joseph Henry, William Penn, and Lewis and Clark. The Publications Program does not subsidize works to be published by university or commercial presses.
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Community Outreach
Located in the heart of Independence National Historical Park, the Society strives to be a good neighbor and plays an active role in the shared life of its community. To accomplish these ends, the Society opens its doors to friends, neighbors, and visitors, invites them to use its Library resources without fee, to see historical scientific exhibits and artifacts, and to use its facilities for a wide array of professional gatherings. In this way, the Society serves the local community and benefits at the same time from broadened understanding and respect for the fundamental importance of learning.
The Library
The Library is a major national center for research in the history of science and technology, as well as general U.S. history to 1840. It houses over 200,000 volumes and bound periodicals, seven million manuscripts, and thousands of maps and prints. Many of its long series of American and foreign scientific publications are not easily available elsewhere. Rare books include first editions of Newton's Principia, Franklin's Experiments and Observations, and Darwin's Origin of Species.
Outstanding manuscript collections range from eighteenth- and nineteenth-century natural history and linguistics to the modern life sciences, physics, and computer development. Papers from Rockefeller Institute scientists document the organization of early twentieth-century medical research. Genetics and quantum physics collections include taped oral histories by founders of the fields. Among the most frequently used collections are the Benjamin Franklin Papers, the papers of the artist Charles Willson Peale and family, and the papers of Franz Boas, founder of modern American anthropology.
Many scholarly conferences and seminars are hosted by the Library, which also has served as a home to special research projects such as the Society's History of Genetics Project, The Papers of Charles Darwin, and The Papers of Benjamin Henry Latrobe. Library grant programs promote graduate study of North American Indians, and the history of physical sciences. Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fellowships support bibliographical projects by both young and senior historians. Printed guides and a national computerized catalogue encourage the use of the Library by scholars from around the world.
For nearly a half-century, the Library has supported a formal conservation program staffed by highly qualified professionals. Neutral paper folders were first employed in 1930 when the Archives and the Miscellaneous Manuscript Collection were catalogued, and the Society was one of the first institutions to microfilm its collections for purposes of record, preservation, and security. A major contribution to community outreach is the Conservation Workshops conducted by the Library staff each year.
Library Hall, erected in 1959, stands by congressional authority within Independence National Historical Park. It is modeled in part on the hall of the Library Company of Philadelphia (also founded by Franklin), which occupied the site from 1789 to 1884. In addition to temperature- and humidity-controlled book stacks and a five-level manuscript vault, the building contains reading rooms, an exhibition area, and state-of-the art conservation and audio laboratories. In 1981 the Society purchased the historic Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank at 427 Chestnut Street. Renamed Benjamin Franklin Hall, this facility has been fully renovated and now houses a modern auditorium seating 400 on two levels, a reception area, and seminar and exhibition spaces. On its upper floors there is 3,500 square feet of additional space for the long-term storage of library materials.
Funding the Work of the Society
The endowment of the Society provides a substantial portion of the operating budget. The Annual Fund, which provides unrestricted operating support, was initiated in 1992 and continues to grow. Foundation grants play an important role, as do the Friends of the Library, in the support of special projects, such as the development of information retrieval systems and the refinement of conservation activities in the Library. Gifts to support the work of the Society are most welcome and greatly appreciated.
Inquiries
The Society welcomes questions and comments concerning the nature and scope of its work. Inquiries about the Society may be addressed to:
Address and phone contacts
American Philosophical Society
104 South Fifth Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106-3386
Phone: (215) 440.3400
Fax: (215) 440.3423