Literary and Philosophical Society of New-York

Founding of the Society

Year	Authority / Notes
1814	According to Harris (1972), p.331, the Society was founded on 1814, January 13. Harris (1972), p.329 gives the name as Literary and Philosophical Society of New-York. On p.334, Harris (1972) indicates that, after a long wait, Vol. 2 of the Transactions was finally published in 1825 (ten years after the publication of Vol. 1), but it was quite slender by comparison with Vol. 1. By that time the Society was already in decline. Harris (1972), pp.334-335 attributes this decline to two causes. Firstly, the Society had devoted more time to securing honorary memberships in the Society than to the promotion of science itself. Secondly, just three years after the Society had been founded, it found a rival in the Lyceum of Natural History of New-York (which was formed in 1817, and later became the New York Academy of Sciences ). This rival proved to be more vigorous than the Society itself, and followed the more modern approach of specializing in an area (in their case, natural history), rather than the older generalist model of the Enlightenment, which had been followed by the Society. According to Harris (1972), p.335, after the formation of the Lyceum of Natural History of New-York, the Society went into a protracted decline. By the 1830s the Society had trouble reaching quorum for its meetings, the last of which is recorded to have occurred on 1834, November 28.

Year

Authority / Notes

1814

According to Harris (1972), p.331, the Society was founded on 1814, January 13. Harris (1972), p.329 gives the name as Literary and Philosophical Society of New-York.

On p.334, Harris (1972) indicates that, after a long wait, Vol. 2 of the Transactions was finally published in 1825 (ten years after the publication of Vol. 1), but it was quite slender by comparison with Vol. 1. By that time the Society was already in decline.

Harris (1972), pp.334-335 attributes this decline to two causes. Firstly, the Society had devoted more time to securing honorary memberships in the Society than to the promotion of science itself. Secondly, just three years after the Society had been founded, it found a rival in the Lyceum of Natural History of New-York (which was formed in 1817, and later became the New York Academy of Sciences ). This rival proved to be more vigorous than the Society itself, and followed the more modern approach of specializing in an area (in their case, natural history), rather than the older generalist model of the Enlightenment, which had been followed by the Society.

According to Harris (1972), p.335, after the formation of the Lyceum of Natural History of New-York, the Society went into a protracted decline. By the 1830s the Society had trouble reaching quorum for its meetings, the last of which is recorded to have occurred on 1834, November 28.

Name of the Society

Dates	Name	Authority
1814, January13 - 1834, November28	Literary and Philosophical Society of New-York	According to Harris (1972), p.33 establishes the start date; p.329 gives the name. Harris (1972), p.335 gives the end date.

Dates

Name

Authority

1814, January13 - 1834, November28

Literary and Philosophical Society of New-York

According to Harris (1972), p.33 establishes the start date; p.329 gives the name.

Harris (1972), p.335 gives the end date.

Journals of the Society

Years	Full Journal Title	Abbrev.
1815 - 1825 (v.1 - v.2, no.1) A	Transactions of the Literary and Philosophical Society of New-York Indexed RSLC [New York Pub. Lib. cat.]	New York, Trans. Lit. Phil. Soc. RSLC, v.1, p.lvi. Trans. Hist. & Phil. Soc. N. Y. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad., Vol. 37, (1885), p.371 cites 1815. Trans. Lit. & Phil. Soc. N. Y. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad., Vol. 49, (1897), p.99 cites I, 1815. Trans. Lit. and Phil. Soc., N. Y. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad., Vol. 12, (1860), p.112 cites vol. i. Trans. Lit. and Phil. Soc., New York Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad., Vol. 37, (1885), p.59 cites 1815. Trans. Lit. and Phil. Soc. of N. Y. Mem. Am. Acad. Arts Sci., New Series, Vol. 2, (1846), p.269 cites I. Trans. Lit. and Phil. Soc. of New York Mem. Am. Acad. Arts Sci., New Series, Vol. 2, (1846), p.479 cites I. Trans. Lit. and Philos. Soc. N. Y. Am. Midland Naturalist, Vol. 44, No. 1 (Jul., 1950), p.150 cites 1, 1815. Trans. Lit. et Phil. Soc. New York Mem. Am. Acad. Arts Sci., New Series, Vol. 2, (1846), p.287 cites I. Trans. Lit. Phil. Soc. N. Y. Copeia, Vol. 1962, No. 1 (Apr. 11, 1962), p.146 cites I, 1815. Trans. Lit. & Phil. Soc. New York Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad., Vol. 39, No. 2 (Apr. - Aug., 1887), p.295 cites i, 1815. Trans. Lit. Phil. Soc. New York Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad., Vol. 36, (1884), p.312 cites i, 1814. Trans. Lit. Philos. Soc. N. Y. Am. Midland Naturalist, Vol. 29, No. 2 (Mar., 1943), p.370 cites 1, 1815. Trans. Lit. Philos. Soc. New York Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad., Vol. 55, (1903), p.346 cites I, 1815. Trans. Lit. Philos. Soc. N.Y. Estuaries, Vol. 8, No. 3 (Sep., 1985), p.310 cites 1, 1815. Trans. of the Lit. and Phil. Soc. of New York Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad., Vol. 13, (1861), p.399 cites vol. 1 (Dec. 8th, 1814). Trans. of the Literary and Philosophical Soc. of N. Y. PMLA, Vol. 51, No. 4 (Dec., 1936), p.1143 cites I (1815).

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