Literary and Philosophical Society of St Andrews

The Literary and Philosophical Society of St Andrews was founded in 1838 when it was announced that "Several Gentlemen connected with the University and the City of St Andrews, being desirous of establishing a Literary and Philosophical Society, are anxious to receive the names of those Gentlemen, who are disposed to countenance such an Institution. Beside the general object of promoting Literary and Philosophic research the Society would especially have in view the establishment of a Museum in the University'. Signed by: John Adamson, Principal Robert Haldane, Walter Glass, Principal Sir David Brewster, John Bain, Thomas Duncan, William Tennant, George Buist, Charles J Lyon, Adam Anderson, William D Playfair, George Cook, William Thomson, Thomas Gillespie, Alexander Meldrum, Hugh Lyon Playfair, William Lothian, Thomas L Jackson, Cathcart Dempster, James Hunter, James Lumsdaine, William Ferrie, William Arnott, Andrew Alexander, Benjamin Broughton, Patrick Wallace, Thomas Aitken, Robert Briggs, Robert Pattullo, W R K Douglas, Henry Cox, Patrick Mudie, Robert G Smyth, George Govan, William Bonthrone, and Robert Daun.

There were to be two categories of membership, ordinary, paying a subscription of half a guinea (10s 6d), and honorary. In March 1857 a third category was added, associate membership, awarded to local people who paid a lower or no subscription and had no voting rights. The election of honorary members became intermittent from about 1850 and the last one seems to have been elected in 1890. Associate membership was briefly revived in 1890, for locals who of a slightly lower social class than normal members but were interested in science and / or helped in the museum.

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