American Philosophical Society

"All the institutions of every name for the promotion of useful knowledge should be... supported from the public purse." Alexander Dallas Bache (APS 1829)

Since 1743, APS Members have supported useful knowledge! Check back weekly for their words of wisdom. #wordsofwisdom

"We especially need imagination in science..." Maria Mitchell (APS 1869)

Since 1743, APS Members have supported the cultivation of useful knowledge through intellectual inquiry and critical thought. Check back weekly for their words of wisdom.

#usefulknowledge #wordsofwisdom

Since 1743, APS's mission has been "the cultivation of useful knowledge"—intellectual inquiry and critical thought are inherently in the best interest of the public.

Check back weekly for APS Members' words of wisdom.

#usefulknowledge #wordsofwisdom

“Science on the Front Lines” — The first panel of our Science and Society conference!

Check out the rest of the lineup and register on the conference page! www.amphilsoc.org/events/scien...

#historyofscience #AmericaRevolution #Archives

I am writing a blog series for the @amphilsociety.bsky.social. It will contribute to the ongoing "America's Scientific Revolutionaries" project at APS, funded by the Lounsbery Foundation. My short intro article is up! It's a quick read, so check it out: www.amphilsoc.org/news/science...

Congratulations to author Bob Frishman, who recently won the 2025 John Frederick Lewis award from the @amphilsociety.bsky.social for EDWARD DUFFIELD, his book with @amphilpress.bsky.social! bit.ly/4ewQ2Bj

June 27, 2025 Archive spotlight: The Richard Garwin collection

Physicist Dick Garwin died last month at the age of 97. He was a consistently influential figure in science, technology & public policy from just after World War II onward. His mammoth archive at @amphilsociety.bsky.social will be a resource for generations of scholars. www.aip.org/history/garw...

June 27, 2025 Archive spotlight: The Richard Garwin collection

🗞️ Today’s AIP History Newsletter item is an interview with archivists Melanie Rinehart & Kathryn Antonelli about the Richard Garwin Collection at @amphilsociety.bsky.social. Great resource for understanding many aspects of science in the 20th & 21st centuries.
www.aip.org/history/garw...

Benjamin Nathans wins 2025 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction | Penn Today Nathans, the Alan Charles Kors Endowed Term Professor of History in the School of Arts & Sciences, has taught at Penn since 1998.

Benjamin Nathans (APS Franklin Research Grant 2003) awarded the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction for To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause: The Many Lives of the Soviet Dissident Movement. @upenn.edu‬ @pulitzerprizes.bsky.social‬ penntoday.upenn.edu/news/benjami...

A New Exhibition Reveals the Material Culture of Our Revolutionary City Maps, muskets, punch bowls, and other rare ephemera are currently on view at the American Philosophical Society Museum

“Philadelphia, the Revolutionary City complicates [the] stale and limited version of life in the ‘Birthplace of the Nation’ during the messy era in which that birth was taking place.” – Amy Cohen in @hiddencityphila.bsky.social #Philadelphia #AmericanRevolution hiddencityphila.org/2025/06/a-ne...

Congrats to Robbert Dijkgraaf (APS 2013) and Terrence J. Sejnowski (APS 2025) on being elected as Fellows of the @royalsociety.bsky.social

What do you do for fun? Go to public lectures. Tonight's is the history of coffee in the US. ☕🇺🇸

P.S. @amphilsociety.bsky.social is a gem! If you live in Philly and haven't taken advantage, you're missing out. If you don't live here, most events are live streamed so check them out.

Coffee Nation | American Philosophical Society Join us on June 5, 2025 to celebrate the publication of Director of the APS's Library & Museum Michelle McDonald's book Coffee Nation: How One Commodity Transformed the Early United States.

NEXT WEEK: Michelle McDonald will discuss her forthcoming book COFFEE NATION, which illuminates how coffee tied the economic future of the early US to the wider Atlantic world, in a hybrid event at the @amphilsociety.bsky.social on Thursday, June 5. Register today!

Center for the History of Science | American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society’s Center for the History of Science encourages greater engagement with the Library & Museum's deep and extensive holdings through a robust program of long- and short...

The APS’ Mendel newsletter is back and better than ever. Check out the inaugural issue of Mendel+ on the CHS website! www.amphilsoc.org/center-histo...

Coffee Nation | American Philosophical Society Join us on June 5, 2025 to celebrate the publication of Director of the APS's Library & Museum Michelle McDonald's book Coffee Nation: How One Commodity Transformed the Early United States.

Author Michelle McDonald will discuss her new book COFFEE NATION, which illuminates how coffee tied the economic future of the early US to the wider Atlantic world, at a hybrid virtual/in-person event hosted by @amphilsociety.bsky.social on June 5.

Register now! bit.ly/3EJWveD

Delighted to learn I will be a 2025-2026 Mellon Foundation Research Fellow (short-term) at the @amphilsociety.bsky.social 's Library & Museum...

Looking forward to making some progress on some new projects and, of course, enjoying the kindness and hospitality Philadelphia is known for.

"America's 1776: Independence and its Enduring Legacies," June 4-6, 2026 | American Philosophical Society

July 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. A month earlier in June 2026, we will hold a conference “America’s 1776”. Submit a proposal!
www.amphilsoc.org/americas-177...

Processing the Richard Garwin Papers, Part 2 | American Philosophical Society In my previous blog post on processing the papers of physicist Richard Garwin, I focused on the correspondence series, consisting of both Garwin’s IBM files and his personal correspondence, which will...

Part II: www.amphilsoc.org/blog/process...

Processing the Richard Garwin Papers | American Philosophical Society Archival collections do not spawn, fully processed, from the open lid of a Hollinger box. An archivist’s intercession is required to turn accessioned materials into a usable, accessible collection. My...

And also from a series of blogs from the archivist who processed his papers: www.amphilsoc.org/blog/process...

You can learn more about Richard Garwin’s life in his @nytimes.com obit: www.nytimes.com/2025/05/14/s...

Sepia-toned head shot photo of Richard Garwin

In recognition of the accomplished life of physicist, researcher, inventor, and engineer, Richard Garwin (APS 1979), learn about his work through his newly-processed, 219 linear feet long collection at the APS. as.amphilsoc.org/repositories...

🎉Congratulations!

We're delighted to share the news that Prof @billsutherland.bsky.social has been elected a member of the American Philosophical Society. @amphilsociety.bsky.social

Read more: bit.ly/4mctitG

APS Elects New Members for 2025 | American Philosophical Society Philadelphia—The American Philosophical Society (APS), the oldest and most distinguished learned society in North America, is pleased to announce the election of 38 new Members in 2025. These new Memb...

The American Philosophical Society is pleased to announce the election of new Members for 2025. Read about the 38 new Members elected by their peers: www.amphilsoc.org/news/aps-ele...

"“Akiinziitookw - Let's Read Together!” Collaborative Interpretation of Moravian Munsee Lenape Manuscripts and Ancestral Voices at Harvard’s Houghton Library" with Anca Wilkening, Velma Noah-Nicholas ... The final 2024-2025 Indigenous Learning Forum will take place May 08, 2025 at 3:00 p.m. ET on Zoom. This talk will be given in English with Spanish translation.  This event is open to all but registra...

The online Indigenous Learning Forum on May 8 will discuss a collaborative archival research project at Harvard’s Houghton Library focused on 18th- and 19th-century Moravian manuscripts written in Munsee Lenape and German. www.amphilsoc.org/events/akiin...

Get a preview of Mary Beth Norton's new book on @bfworld.bsky.social, then join us tonight at 6 pm ET in Philadelphia or online to hear more: www.amphilsoc.org/events/i-hum...

Useful resource by my colleague Yumi and APS’s Center for Digital Scholarship! We’re hoping to make more like this available as part of the Revolutionary City Project. Direct link to “‘Indian War’ and Indigenous Diplomacy, 1776”: therevolutionarycity.org/jasper-yeates

I Humbly Beg Your Speedy Answer | American Philosophical Society On Tuesday, May 6, 2025, award-winning historian Mary Beth Norton (APS 2010) will present selections from her new book "I Humbly Beg Your Speedy Answer": Letters on Love and Marriage from the World’s…

Tomorrow (May 6) at 6 pm EDT: @amphilsociety.bsky.social welcomes Mary Beth Norton, who will present selections from her new book, "I Humbly Beg Your Speedy Answer." This hybrid event is free and open to the public.

RSVP today:

Locating Lenape History in the Jasper Yeates Papers | American Philosophical Society In 1776, as war broke out between the United States and Britain, both sides scrambled to bring the continent’s Indigenous peoples over to their side. A sliver of this history is narrated in the Jasper...

The Jasper Yeates papers digitized for the Revolutionary City Project, provide a glimpse into diplomacy with the Lenape people during the American Revolution. Explore the new digital exhibit, "'Indian War' and Indigenous Diplomacy, 1776."
www.amphilsoc.org/news/locatin...

Coffee Nation | American Philosophical Society Join us on June 5, 2025 to celebrate the publication of Director of the APS's Library & Museum Michelle McDonald's book Coffee Nation: How One Commodity Transformed the Early United States.

Save the date: Michelle McDonald will discuss her forthcoming book COFFEE NATION, which illuminates how coffee tied the economic future of the early US to the wider Atlantic world, in a hybrd event at the @amphilsociety.bsky.social on Thursday, June 5. Register now! bit.ly/3EJWveD

After Hours Quizzo: Philadelphia, The Revolutionary City | American Philosophical Society Join the APS on Thursday, May 1st for the After Hours Quizzo: Philadelphia, The Revolutionary City !Are you the type of museum-goer who has a competitive spirit?If so, join the APS Museum for “After H...

Join us tomorrow for After Hours Quizzo. Hang out on the second floor of Philosophical Hall and enjoy a night of trivia, after work drinks, and snacks. Trivia questions will be centered around civics and American history. www.amphilsoc.org/events/after...