MAKING A COMMUNITY SPACE FOR SCIENCE: WILLIAM WAGNER AND THE WAGNER FREE INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE OF PHILADELPHIA 1812-1912 By MATTHEW ADOLPHUS WHITE A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2016 © 2016 Matthew Adolphus White To Shelly, Mom, and Dad for their unwavering support and patience ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Though my name is on the title page as the author of this dissertation, I am by no means the only one responsible for its creation and completion. I could not have completed this work, indeed completed the entirety of my graduate career, without the help of many people. First and foremost is my wife Shelly Felton. She encouraged me, assisted me, supported me, edited my work, and kept me in good spirits for the many years this project took to complete. She made more than a few sacrifices herself and I can never truly repay her devotion and support. She will always have my love and my appreciation. Secondly I could not have completed this project without the love and support of my parents Marilyn and Max White. Even at my advanced age they are exemplars of parental support and encouragement. I also benefited from the love of my brother Max Albert (Chip) White, III, who did not live to see the completion of this dissertation. Rest in peace, Chip. Throughout my graduate career I had the privilege of working with a first rate committee who are all top scholars and educators. First and foremost among these was Dr. Vassiliki (Betty) Smocovitis, who was not only a knowledgeable and insightful chair of my committee, but a friend, confidant, and a rock of support. The rest of my committee was no less helpful and supportive. Thank you Dr. Frederick Gregory, Dr. Sean Adams, and Dr. Sevan Terzian of the University of Florida. I would especially like to acknowledge the friendship and support of Dr. Karen Rader of Virginia Commonwealth University who, as an advisor and committee member from a university 668 miles from Gainesville, Florida had to deal with added barriers to participate on my committee. I would also like to acknowledge Dr. Charlotte Porter Curator of the History of Science Emeritus of the Florida Museum of Natural History and Dr. Maria Portuondo 4 currently Associate Professor and Chair of the History of Science and Technology Program at The Johns Hopkins University. Both of these scholars participated on my committee at an early stage, but whose careers took them to new places and positions. Throughout the research for this project I benefited from hospitality, professionalism, knowledge, support and, yes, tolerance of many talented and hard working archivists and librarians. Chief among these is Lynn Dorwaldt the Librarian and Archivist of the Wagner Free Institute of Science. She not only served me promptly and professionally with the documents I requested, but she was also a gracious host who shared a small workspace with me for several weeks. She is a credit to her profession. I would also like to thank the WFIS’s Director Susan Glassman who was always helpful and generous with her time, but was also the person most responsible for turning the venerable scientific institution into a site of heritage and history. At the Smithsonian Archives I was served well by librarians Daisy Njoku and Ellen Alers and at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia by Clare Fleming and Megan Gibes. During a brief stint working at the American Philosophical Society I was the grateful recipient of support and wisdom Earle Spamer and Charles Greifenstein. Dr. Griefenstein specifically deserves my thanks for suggesting the topic of the Wagner Free Institute of Science in the first place. While studying at the University of Florida I met a number of wonderful people who supported and assisted with this project. High on that list is the staff and officers of the History of Science Society Robert Malone, Virginia Hessels, Michal Meyer, and, after the HSS moved to Notre Dame, Greg Macklem. This was a wonderful group of people to work for and with while finishing my graduate studies. The History Department 5 of the University of Florida had a number of Graduate Coordinators while I was in attendance. I would like to thank Drs. Matthew Gallman, Sheryl Kroen, Nina Caputo, and Elizabeth Dale for their support. And since none of us would be anywhere without trusted support with the seemingly endless and endlessly complicated paperwork, I would also like to thank Erin Smith and Hazel Phillips for their calm, reassuring assistance. I would also like to thank the then chair of the Museum Studies Program at the University of Florida, Dr. Glenn Willumson who provided a sympathetic ear, sound professional and scholarly wisdom, and enough trust to let me teach a graduate seminar in Museum Education. Special assistance was provided by Vivian Gornik and her mother Susan Gornik who were essential in providing translations of correspondence in German. And finally, this dissertation would not have been possible without the financial assistance and institutional support of a number of organizations including several at the University of Florida. These were the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the History Department, the Graduate Student Council, and the The History Graduate Society. But the lion’s share of the research was funded by the Consortium for the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine through a dissertation research grant they awarded me in 2011-2012. For their confidence in me I thank Dr. Babbak Ashrafi, Joseph Simon, and Bonnie Clause. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. 4 ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 10 2 YOUNG WILLIAM WAGNER, MERCANTILIST AND AMATEUR NATURALIST ... 21 The Earliest Influences of William Wagner ............................................................. 23 Wagner’s Apprenticeship with Stephen Girard ....................................................... 27 Full Time Merchant, Part Time Scientist ................................................................. 45 3 CREATING AND CONTROLLING A SPACE FOR SCIENCE ................................ 57 The Honeymoon ..................................................................................................... 59 An Idea in Need of a Home ..................................................................................... 66 A Temporary Place for Science Downtown ............................................................. 69 Out of the Old and in to the New ............................................................................. 83 4 A COMMUNITY SPACE FOR SCIENCE AT THE WAGNER FREE INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE .......................................................................................................... 93 A Shared Space for Religion and Science .............................................................. 96 A Space in the Community for Science Education ................................................ 103 The Wagner Free Institute of Science’s Place in the Community ......................... 130 5 PROFESSIONALIZING AND EXPANDING 1885-1912 ........................................ 142 A Time Transition .................................................................................................. 144 A Space for Science at the Wagner Free Instate of Science ................................ 154 A Space for Community Engagement ................................................................... 169 The Wagner Free Institute of Science and University Extension .................... 172 The Wagner Free Institute of Science and the Free Library of Philadelphia .. 179 6 CLOSING THOUGHTS ......................................................................................... 185 APPENDIX: A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF STEPHEN GIRARD ..................................... 202 LIST OF REFERENCES ............................................................................................. 215 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .......................................................................................... 225 7 Abstract of Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy MAKING A COMMUNITY SPACE FOR SCIENCE: WILLIAM WAGNER AND THE WAGNER FREE INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE OF PHILADELPHIA 1812–1912 By Matthew Adolphus White December 2016 Chair: Vassiliki Smocovitis Major: History This work explores the public science of the Wagner Free Institute of Philadelphia (WFIS) and its founder William Wagner. Though a businessman by training and vocation, Wagner maintained a strong interest and avocation in science from his youth in Philadelphia during the early 19th century that he nurtured and practiced throughout his life. Upon retiring from business in 1840 he dedicated himself full-time to not only building on his already sizable collection in natural history specimens, but also to bring scientific knowledge to the people of Philadelphia for free. He incorporated the WFIS in 1855 and held lectures in a municipal building. In 1865 he opened the Wagner Free Institute of Science in its own building compete with museum, lecture