Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia

“ One of the features of the museum is the large number of type specimens which served as the basis of the work of the eminent naturalists who have figured in the history of the Academy, access to which is indispensable to the students of the present day.
An idea of the extent of the collections may be gained from recent examinations of the catalogues. The vertebrate animals number about 130,000 specimens, 12,000 being mammals, 60,000 birds, 20,000 reptiles and 40,000 fishes. The insects are estimated at nearly 400,000 specimens and the shells at a million and one-half. ”

“ The specimens in the apartment fronting on Broad Street, at first designed as a lecture room, were now removed upstairs and the growing library was extended into the room thus vacated which was used subsequently as the place of meeting. The western room in which the meetings had been held was later divided by a galleried partition, thus affording additional space for shelving.
In 1858, the recently formed Biological Society became the Biological Department of the Academy, Dr. Leidy being the first Director. ”

“ He had begun his studies in the Academy in 1879, on his return from Europe, where he had received a solid scientific training under Huxley in the Royal College of Mines, London, and subsequently in Geneva, Florence and Vienna. While serving as a Jessup Fund student he was engaged in the arrangement of the collection of fossil invertebrata. He suggested as Curator a number of enterprises in which he took more interest than in the routine duties of his executive office. ”

“ A most important event in the history of the society was the election to membership on July 29, 1845, of Dr. Joseph Leidy. He published the first of a brilliant series of contributions to natural history in the Proceedings a couple of months later and for the succeeding forty-six years he exerted a most active influence on the well-being of the institution in every department of its administration until, to the community at large, the names of Leidy and the Academy were inseparably associated. ”

“ The meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, held in Philadelphia in 1884, may be regarded as a notable event in the history of the Academy, under whose auspices it was held. It was probably the most important meeting of the kind held in America up to that time. ”

“ Henceforth, except when away from the city, he was rarely absent from a session of the society. It may be claimed that the continued existence of the Academy was in great measure due to his devotion and the dignity he was able to give the proceedings by the high character of his scientific work. After the failure of the firm of Speakman and Say he resided for a time in the hall of the Academy, accommodating himself heroically to his exceedingly cramped means. In 1825 he accompanied Mr. Maclure to New Harmony. ”

“ Thomas B. Wilson presented Owen's History of British Fossil Mammalia and Birds and from that date until his death in 1865, more than ten thousand volumes were given by him. His brother, Edward Wilson, presented 4,184 rare volumes and pamphlets of the last century, and a valuable selection from Dr. Wilson's library was received after his death from another brother, Rathmel Wilson. Dr. Wilson bequeathed to the Academy $10,000, the interest to be used for the continuance of his subscriptions and as a contribution toward the salary of the Librarian. ”

“ The sums named were regularly paid until February, 1872, when $10,000 in bonds were transferred to the Academy. Mrs. Clara J. Moore, in 1888, added $5,000 to the fund and, in 1893, she gave $5,000 for the assistance of young women similarly inclined. Sixty-nine men and four women have been assisted by the endowment, some of them attaining dignified positions as teachers, geologists, biologists and authors. ”

“ James Aitken Meigs consisting of 5,089 volumes was bequeathed to the Academy by his father, together with $20,000, in 1895.
The old hand lists were replaced in 1885 by a regulation card catalogue which has been kept up to date. An Assistant Librarian was appointed in 1890. The library, exclusively for reference, now contains about 60,000 volumes, almost entirely on the natural sciences. In many respects it is the most important collection of the kind in America. ”

“ In his earlier years he used to make botanical expeditions with William Oakes, and when he settled in Philadelphia in 1829, he had a strong bent towards natural science, very soon being appointed one of the curators at the Academy of Natural Sciences. ”

“ In order to further these researches, he withdrew from the university and went to the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences, where, in 1890, he became a member of the microscopical and biological section, and later was elected professor of microscopic technology. ”

“ Wilson was succeeded by Dr. Robert Bridges, [18] who had been elected to membership in 1835. There probably has never been one among those devoted unobtrusively to the interests of the society who rendered more efficient service than Dr. Bridges. He had served at various times as Librarian, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, Auditor and Vice-President, and did effective work on numerous standing and special committees, including those on the Library, Publications, Finance, Botany, Entomology, Herpetology and Ichthyology, Physics and Chemistry. ”

“ He was earnestly interested in all the building enterprises, and gave liberally to them himself, contributing to the last building fund the largest sum given by an individual. He bequeathed to the Academy his collections of minerals and archæological specimens, with the exception of ten of the minerals to be selected by his brother. ”

“ There are in the cases 50,000 specimens of fossils, 30,000 minerals, 20,000 pieces of archæological material and over 600,000 preparations of dried plants. Nearly all the departments are now in the care of specialists and the collections are growing at a rapid rate, many of the study collections being equal or superior to those of any other institution in America. ”

“ During the early years of the nineteenth century, however, economic conditions in our country became such as to give opportunity for scientific thought. Educated men then formed themselves into societies for the discussion of scientific matters. This naturally led to the establishment of publications whereby the papers presented to the societies could be published and made available to the advancement of science generally. The most influential of these was the Journal of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Science, which was established in 1817, and was devoted largely to zoological papers. ”

“ Cope's contributions to science, his paleontological work especially, lent brilliancy to the Proceedings and Journal and as time progressed entitled him to be regarded as the greatest naturalist born on American soil. In his relations to the administrative affairs of the Academy, he was ever a storm center, absolutely a law unto himself, and so divergent were his theories and methods from those entertained by Dr. ”

“ During the rest of his life he gave devoted attention to the economic interests of the Academy, serving continuously as Curator from 1838, and as Vice-President from 1860, with a brief interval, until his death in 1882. He also rendered indispensable service as a member of the Publication Committee from 1840 and as treasurer of the Board of Trustees of the Building Fund from its organization in January, 1867. ”

“ It was through the liberality of Joseph Jeanes, in association with William P. Wilstach, that provision was made for the publication of Leidy's fine work, The Extinct Fauna of Dakota and Nebraska, constituting the seventh volume of the quarto Journal. His contributions for the increase of the library were frequent, and, in truth, every department benefited by his desire to advance the cause of science. In June, 1898, his sister, Anna, conveyed to the Academy a gift of $20,000, to be known as the Mary Jeanes Museum Fund. ”

“ The old idea of having all specimens displayed in show cases has been superseded by the establishment of two distinct collections: an exhibition series selected and arranged primarily for the education of the public and a study series compactly arranged in the laboratories and study rooms, where the large suites of specimens required in the work of modern specialists may be accumulated and preserved. Perishable material which has but a comparatively short life in exhibition cases is here preserved from the ravages of light, dust and insects. ”

“ The object of the Institution is to cultivate the Natural Sciences exclusively, and to diffuse a knowledge of them amongst the people. Of the 409,000 inhabitants of Philadelphia, about 150 only are now engaged in this laudable enterprise, which is little known and little understood by the community. Its members include representatives of almost all vocations; clergymen, physicians, lawyers, merchants and mechanics, who devote simply leisure moments to the study of natural history. For this purpose they have formed a museum and library of books on the natural sciences and on the arts. ”

“ Mitchell and Miller. Agreed to procure the Repertory of Arts from London." Davy's London Institution Lectures, Nicholson's Journal, Murray's, Thompson's and Davy's Chemistrys and Tilloch's Magazine were suggested as desirable. It is interesting to see how largely the first members were concerned with physics and chemistry, subjects which for years have received little or no attention in the Academy.
The growth of the library was slow until 1816 when the newly elected President, William Maclure, began his donations which, in 1819, had reached nearly 1,500 volumes. ”

“ The Academy is approaching its centenary. For nearly one hundred years its progress has been steady and progressive and during all that time its resources have been employed exclusively for the intellectual advancement of mankind in connection with the work of unselfish and devoted men. Its influence has not been local but has been exerted wherever scientific research is cultivated. ”

“ Wilson's most striking gift, every department of the museum and library received important additions from him. No other benefactor of the Academy has demonstrated his interest in its welfare with such active personal exertion or with such self-sacrificing labor. His name, therefore, should be among the first of those who deserve the gratitude of the society. ”

“ There were two or three collections of minerals belonging to gentlemen who had brought them from Europe, but they were not accessible to the public.
A few young men in the city were, however, interested in the study of nature. They were all engaged during the day in making a living, and they must have found that occasional gossip in places of resort available to those of their social condition would not help them much in the search for exact knowledge. ”

“ John Hamilton Slack, a man of extraordinary versatility, in a little room directly under Cope's, was studying the mammals and laying ambitious plans for a monograph of the monkeys, which, it is to be regretted, resulted in nothing more than a sixteen page contribution to the Proceedings. He was a frequent visitor to the library and by his accomplishments gave brightness and variety to the dullest days. ”

“ It at first consisted of a single saloon with two ranges of galleries, beneath which, in the basement, was a lecture room to accommodate five hundred people. The value of the premises at the corner of Twelfth and Sansom Streets had appreciated and the property was sold to William E. Hanson for $10,950. The means for the erection of the new hall were, however, chiefly derived from William Maclure who subscribed toward the object $20,000. The building fund was largely augmented by liberal subscriptions from members and others interested in science. ”

“ Their general message to him was to go on with the investigations he had begun, with the assurance that no naturalist in America or Europe had the advantages that he possessed.
On returning home in November, 1832, he found that he had been anticipated in a work he should have done on the Tertiary shells of Alabama, but, having specimens of the species in his cabinet, he prepared a paper, "Contributions to Geology," which he presented to the Academy of Natural Sciences in August, 1833. It contained two hundred and twenty-one species. ”

“ Before doing so he devoted every spare moment to his conchological work and on meeting nights and holidays would be found at his preempted post in the library with trays of shells and piles of books preparing his lists and monographs. He started the American Journal of Conchology in 1865 and carried it successfully through seven volumes. In 1879 he published the first number of the Manual of Conchology, a work to which his future scientific labors were almost entirely confined. The series has been continued by the Academy since Tryon's death in 1888, under the able editorship of Dr. ”

“ John Warner's communications on the mathematics of organic morphology gave a novel interest to several of the meetings, delivered as they were with a quaint earnestness which held the attention even of those unable to follow his abstract deductions. ”

“ Aided by the instruction of such men the natural sciences have been studied with a zeal which has become traditional at Williams. As evidence and result of this, a Lyceum of Natural History has been established and maintained for many years by the students, and has become a fixed institution. The Society has a substantial brick building on the college campus containing a valuable collection of specimens in the various departments of natural history, and a hall in which the Society holds regular meetings for the reading of papers and the discussion of questions relating to natural science. ”