AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY

oldest extant learned society in the United States, founded under the impetus of Benjamin Franklin in 1743. In the late 20th century, it had more than 700 members, elected for their scholarly and scientific accomplishments in any of four areasthe mathematical and physical sciences, the biological sciences, the social sciences, and the humanitiesor for their eminence in the professions, arts, or public affairs. Its headquarters are in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. From a group of young men called the Juntoformed in Philadelphia by Franklin in 1727, when he was only 21there grew an interest in experiment and inquiry that resulted in his publication in 1743 of A Proposal for Promoting Useful Knowledge Among the British Plantations in America. This proposal was so favourably received that the American Philosophical Society was organized with Thomas Hopkinson as president and Franklin as secretary. In 1769 it was united with another scientific society founded by Franklin (the American Society), and Franklin was elected president (an office he held until his death in 1790); the new society was incorporated in 1780. The astronomer David Rittenhouse was the united society's second president (179196), and Thomas Jefferson was its third (17971814). The American Philosophical Society occupies two buildings in Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphiathe Philosophical Hall (erected 178589) and the Library, a replica of the original home of the Library Company of Philadelphia (1798); the library and meeting rooms contain rich collections of manuscripts (some 7,000,000) and books on American science and culture. The society's publications include Memoirs, Proceedings, Transactions, and Year Book.