American Philosophical Society

Benjamin Franklin founded the American Philosophical Society in 1743 in Philadelphia, patterning it after the Royal Society of London. It's purpose was the promotion of the study of science and the practical arts of agriculture, engineering trades, and manufactures. Subjects of today's "philosophy" were generally excluded from the societies of the 17th and 18th centuries and the word "philosophy" meant to them "love of knowledge," and was essentially the equivalent of today's "science." Interest in the Society waned after the first few years, then revived with a creation of the American Society. At their first meeting on Jan. 2, 1769, Benjamin Franklin was elected their president, and was re-elected annually until his death in 1790, even though he was frequently absent in Europe. This photocopy was made from the original document, owned by Spotswood Hunt, which he loaned to William Madison Randall Library for an exhibit in May, 1969.

From the description of American Philosophical Society membership certificate, 1786 / American Philosophical Society. (University of North Carolina, Wilmington). WorldCat record id: 45038009

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