Founded in Philadelphia in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin, and revived after the dislocation of the Revolutionary War, the American Philosophical Society was dedicated to the promotion of "all philosophical experiments that let light into the nature of things, tend to increase the power of man. over matter, and multiply the conveniences and pleasures of life." Franklin was president from 1769 to his death in 1790. He was succeeded by astronomer and mathematician David Rittenhouse, and then by Thomas Jefferson, who presided from 1797 to 1815! Jefferson, who became president of the society at the same time he was elected vice president of the United States, claimed that the A.P.S. honor meant more to him than his political office. The society's support of science and the practical arts was of considerable value in prompting American intellectual progress, as well as keeping the United States connected with European scientific and...