Existing comment:
American Philosophical Society: A Society of "Ingenious Men," 1743
Franklin's Junto had already demonstrated how much friends committed to one another's mutual improvement could accomplish. In 1743, Franklin drew up a proposal to create an intercolonial Junto: a network of scientists and philosophers who would share news of their discoveries by post.
The American Philosophical Society was modeled after London's Royal Society and Dublin's Philosophical Society, and its founding members included botanist John Bartram and lawyer-scientist Thomas Hopkinson. The Society provided a forum for exchanging ideas and pooling skills and knowledge, and its members particularly strove to promote American science and invention.
"One Society be formed of Virtuosi or ingenious Men residing in the several Colonies, to be called The American Philosophical Society; who are to maintain a constant Correspondence.
-- Benjamin Franklin, A Proposal for Promoting Useful Knowledge, 1743 |