American Philosophical Society Hall | |
.jpg) Philosophical Hall, the headquarters of the American Philosophical Society inPhiladelphia | |
    | |
| Location | 104 S. Fifth St.,Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 39°56′55″N75°8′58″W / 39.94861°N 75.14944°W /39.94861; -75.14944 |
| Built | 1787 |
| Architect | Samuel Vaughan |
| Architectural style | Georgian |
| Website | amphilsoc |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000675[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | January 12, 1965 |
| Designated NHL | January 12, 1965 |
TheAmerican Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization andlearned society founded in 1743 inPhiladelphia that promotes knowledge in thehumanities andnatural sciences through research, professional meetings, publications,library resources, and community outreach. It was founded by the polymathBenjamin Franklin and is considered the first learned society founded in what became the United States.
Philosophical Hall, the society's headquarters and a museum, is located just east ofIndependence Hall inIndependence National Historical Park. In 1965, in recognition of the building's history, it was designated aNational Historic Landmark.
The society has about 1,000 elected members. As of April 2020, 5,710 members had been inducted since its creation. Through research grants, published journals, the American Philosophical Society Museum, an extensive library, and regular meetings, the society supports a variety of disciplines in the humanities and the sciences.
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The American Philosophical Society was founded as thePhilosophical Society in 1743 byBenjamin Franklin,James Alexander,Francis Hopkinson,John Bartram,Philip Syng Jr., and others[2][3] as an offshoot of an earlier club, theJunto.
Early members included:Benjamin Franklin,John Dickinson,George Washington,John Adams,Thomas Jefferson,[4]Alexander Hamilton,James McHenry,Thomas Paine,David Rittenhouse,Peter Stephen Du Ponceau,Nicholas Biddle,Owen Biddle,Benjamin Rush,James Madison,Michael Hillegas,John Marshall,Charles Pettit, andJohn Andrews.
It was common at the time for intellectual societies to invite members from around the world, where the society recruited members from other countries, includingAlexander von Humboldt, theMarquis de Lafayette,Baron von Steuben,Tadeusz Kościuszko, andPrincess Dashkova. The society lapsed into inactivity by 1746, but was revived in 1767.
On January 2, 1769, the society united with the American Society for Promoting Useful Knowledge under the nameAmerican Philosophical Society Held at Philadelphia for Promoting Useful Knowledge. Franklin was elected the first president.[5] During this time, the society maintained a standing Committee on American Improvements; one of its investigations was to study the prospects for a canal to connect theChesapeake Bay and theDelaware River.[6] TheChesapeake and Delaware Canal, which had been proposed by Thomas Gilpin, Sr., was built in the 1820s.[7]
Following theAmerican Revolutionary War, the society looked for leadership toFrancis Hopkinson, one of the signatories of theUnited States Declaration of Independence. Under his influence, the society received land from the government of Pennsylvania, along with a plot of land in Philadelphia, where Philosophical Hall now stands.
Charles Darwin,Robert Frost,Louis Pasteur,Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz,John James Audubon,Linus Pauling,Margaret Mead,Woodrow Wilson,Maria Mitchell, andThomas Edison were all prominent members of the society.
Many members of theSociety of the Cincinnati were among the APS's first board members and contributors; the APS and SOC still maintain an informal, collegial relationship.
Membership of the APS "honors extraordinary accomplishments in all fields." It has about 1,000 elected members, comprising about 840 "resident" members (United States citizens or those working or living in the United States) and about 160 "international" members. As of February 2025[update] it had elected 5,890 members since its foundation.[8]
Over that history, 220 members have been fromHarvard University, 117 fromPrinceton University, 91 fromStanford University, and 86 from theUniversity of California, Berkeley. Ten academic institutions have each been affiliated with 50 or more members:[9]
| Institution | Members (1743–2024) |
|---|---|
| Harvard | 220 |
| Princeton | 117 |
| Stanford | 91 |
| Berkeley | 86 |
| Columbia | 76 |
| Chicago | 73 |
| Penn | 67 |
| Yale | 63 |
| MIT | 58 |
| NYU | 42 |
In 1786, the society established theMagellanic Premium, a prize for achievement in "navigation,astronomy, or natural philosophy," the oldest scientific prize awarded by an American institution, which it still awards.[10] Other awards include the Barzun Prize forcultural history, the Judson Daland Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Clinical Investigation, theBenjamin Franklin Medal for distinguished achievement in the sciences, theLashley Award forneurobiology, the Lewis Award for the best book published by the society in the year, and theThomas Jefferson Medal for distinguished achievement in the arts, humanities, or social sciences.[11]
The society has published theTransactions of the American Philosophical Society since 1771. Five issues appear each year. TheProceedings have appeared since 1838; they publish the papers delivered at the society's biannual meetings. The society has also publishedThe Papers of Benjamin Franklin,Joseph Henry,William Penn, andMeriwether Lewis andWilliam Clark.Jane Aitken bound 400 volumes for the society.[12]
The society also has an expansive archive on framer of theU.S. constitutionJohn Dickinson.[13]
APS holds the ACLS Collection (American Council of Learned Societies Committee on Native American Languages, American Philosophical Society) which is a collection of indigenous language documents from around the United States including recordings of theOdawa language from northern Michigan.[14] APS has created a guide[15] to help provide broad coverage of the Native American and Indigenous archival collections at the Library & Museum of the American Philosophical Society. These materials date from 1553 to 2020 and include manuscript, audio, and visual materials relating to Indigenous peoples throughout the Americas.
The society also has a collection of manuscripts on the history of the British colonies, Revolutionary War, the history of American science, quantum physics, Charles Darwin and evolution, genetics and the history of technology.[16]
Philosophical Hall, at 104 South Fifth Street, Philadelphia, betweenChestnut andWalnut Streets, immediately south ofOld City Hall, was built in 1785–1789 to house the society and designed by Samuel Vaughan in theFederal style.[17][18] A third floor was added in 1890 to accommodate the expanding library, but was removed in 1948–1950,[18] when the building was restored to its original appearance for the creation ofIndependence National Historical Park.[19] In 2001, it was opened to the public as The American Philosophical Society Museum, hosting revolving, thematic exhibitions that explore intersections of history, art, and science. The museum features works of art, scientific instruments, original manuscripts, rare books, natural history specimens, and curiosities of all kinds from the APS's own collections, along with objects on loan from other institutions.[20]
In 1789–90, theLibrary Company of Philadelphia (LCP) built its headquarters directly across 5th Street from APS. In 1884 LCP sold its building, which was demolished for the expansion of the Drexel & Company Building in 1887. This building was demolished in the mid-1950s, during the creation of Independence National Historical Park.
APS built a library on the site in 1958 and recreated the façade of the old LCP building.
APS restored the former Farmers' & Mechanics' Bank building at 425–29Chestnut Street, which was built in 1854–55 to the design of John M. Gries in theItalianate style,[21] to serve as a lecture hall. It is the site of meetings and most major events the society hosts.[22]
TheConstance C. andEdgar P. Richardson Hall at 431 Chestnut Street, immediately west of Benjamin Franklin Hall, is the former Pennsylvania Company for Insurances on Lives and Granting Annuities Building, which was built in 1871–1873 and designed byAddison Hutton.[23] It contains offices and the Consortium for History of Science, Technology and Medicine.[22]
