AUTUMN 2020 American Philosophical Society News from | PRESENT | For the first time since Council endorsed and co-signed the American Historical Association’s state- BY EARLY MARCH, THE DEVASTATING 1956, the Society passed a ment on the history of racist violence in PHILOSOPHICAL implications of the COVID-19 pan- the United States: https://www.historians. demic were becoming clear. On March public resolution, which was org/news-and-advocacy/aha-advocacy/ 12, the April APS Meeting was cancelled. aha-statement-on-the-history-of-racist- HALL Fortunately, the cost of our hotel contracts addressed to the leaders of the violence-in-the-united-states-(june-2020). and most of the catering contract were for- Robert M. Hauser, Executive Officer We at the APS, with strong support from given. Despite the Meeting cancellation, U.S. House and Senate. staff, are pursuing ways to increase inclu- there were productive virtual Council and sion, diversity, equity, and access at the This account has three parts: the past November 2019 to mid-March 2020; the present Business meetings. In the course of those Society, the APS IDEA. meetings, for the first time since 1956, the lockdown, partial reopening, and social distancing; and the future—what may happen next. During the unexpected, negative events Society passed a public resolution, which The APS staff moved quickly to create of 2020, I have been buoyed by the partici- was addressed to the leaders of the U.S. and enable virtual meetings—most using pation and support of Members, Friends, | PAST | House and Senate. Based on “a disturbing Zoom—to continue regular scholarly and staff. The American Philosophical skepticism toward evidence-based policy- events and essential business meetings. Moses Williams, Cutter of Profiles, Raphaelle Society has weathered many a storm in its LAST NOVEMBER, THE FUTURE OF THE Clark Fund. In addition, we completed an making; a reluctance to accept and apply We have conducted well-attended public Peale (attr.) or Moses Williams, ca. 1803. 276 years, and this one, too, shall pass. Society appeared to have few bounds. We agreement with the Philadelphia Chamber scientific knowledge; and a lack of famil- seminars and research conferences. Brown White laid paper on black stock, 4 in. x 5 had a most successful international sym- Music Society—which rents Franklin iarity with the relevant lessons of history, bag presentations and writing workshops in. Library Company of Philadelphia (www. posium and November Meeting; had just Hall for some of its concerts—to place including long-past and more recent pan- also have been conducted virtually. We librarycompany.org). A silhouette of artist painted the Library exterior; replaced worn a splendid Hamburg Steinway piano on demics,” the resolution called for large new have decided that the Fall APS Meeting Moses Williams, Charles Willson Peale’s (APS carpets in Franklin Hall and Philosophical the stage. federal investments “to support at all levels will be held virtually from November 1786) former slave, possibly by Raphaelle Peale We at the APS, Hall; and arranged for extensive repair of Associate Director for Collections and the education of America’s youth in science, 11 to 13 with all sessions beginning or a self-portrait by Williams. the windows in Philosophical Hall, largely Exhibitions Mary Grace Wahl, Museum history, analytical thinking, and the prima- late enough in the day to accommodate with strong support In 1802, John Isaac Hawkins gave Charles with foundation support. The 2019 exhibi- staff, and Mellon Curatorial Fellows Janine cy of facts as the foundation of the nation’s Members on the West Coast. Regularly Willson Peale his physiognotrace invention, a tion, Mapping a Nation, brought in a record Yorimoto Boldt and Emily A. Margolis future health, general well-being, and secu- updated information about the Society’s from staff, are pursuing ways device for tracing profiles in miniature. Peale 190,702 visitors. And after 4 years of nego- were hard at work on the installation of rity.” The resolution appears in full on the programming is available online at https:// entrusted its operation to his slave, Moses tiation, the partnership between the APS the 2020 Museum exhibition, Dr. Franklin: inside back cover of this newsletter. It has www.amphilsoc.org/virtual-offerings. to increase inclusion, and the David Library of the American Citizen Scientist. And, of course, thanks Williams, who became particularly skilled at been shared with more than 200 scientific On July 6, after the development of well- diversity, equity, and cutting intricate, accurate likenesses. Williams’s Revolution created the new David Center to Director of Meetings Annie Westcott and scholarly organizations and is available researched policies and practices, APS fa- for the American Revolution at the APS. silhouettes became popular souvenirs for and the Committee on Meetings, plans online at https://www.amphilsoc.org/blog/ cilities again opened to staff but not to the access at the Society. visitors to Peale’s Museum—as many as 8,000 In 2019, we received a total of $920,760 were well underway for the April 2020 aps-membership-issues-rare-public-reso- public. Under present city and state guide- visitors bought them each year. However, each in gifts from Members and Friends to the Meeting—a fabulous program, a cater- lution-light-covid-19-preparedness. lines, work from home is still encouraged was just stamped “Museum” or left unsigned, Fund for the APS, a modest increase from ing contract, and room contracts with the On March 13, the April opening of and practiced by most staff. However, the so Williams’s attribution as an artist was 2018. The APS endowment reached an all- Monaco and Marriott Renaissance hotels. the Museum exhibition was postponed Conservation lab has reopened, and instal- obscured. Once freed, Williams married the time high, over $220 million, at the end of The March 10 meeting of the Committee indefinitely. And by the beginning of the lation of the Museum exhibition has been December. Peale family’s white cook and used his profits on Publications included a fruitful dis- following week—partly due to orders completed. Dr. Franklin: Citizen Scientist We received a couple of exceptional gifts. to buy a two-story house. cussion of future collaboration with the from the mayor and governor—the APS will not be open to the public until at least Martine A. Rothblatt (APS 2008) and University of Pennsylvania Press. closed completely, excepting only routine April 2021. However, work is now under- Bina Aspen Rothblatt generously funded visits by facility staff to assure security way to create a high-quality video of the two endowments—the Martine A. and and maintenance of the infrastructure. exhibition that will be accompanied by Bina Aspen Rothblatt Digital Archivist The APS staff began working from home, narration and activities for both school- Fund and the Franklin Conjecture Lecture to the extent possible. No APS staff were children and adults. Fund in support of a quadrennial lecture The Rothblatt Papers will diagnosed with COVID-19, and we Volume 22 on the topic of biostasis, beginning in add tremendously to our developed a continuity plan for staff, that | FUTURE | Published yearly by the 2024. In addition, the Rothblatts will do- is, a guidance about who would succeed American Philosophical Society nate their papers to the APS Library & History of Science collections, any member of the staff who could no NO ONE KNOWS WHEN APS OPERATIONS 104 South 5th Street Museum. The Rothblatt Papers will add longer perform their duties. will return to anything like their past. Will Philadelphia, PA 19106-3387 tremendously to our History of Science particularly in the areas The Society guaranteed full pay to all the epidemic continue in the fall? When Detail from Silhouette sheet, collections, particularly in the areas of staff, including the Museum Guides, who will—and should—the present restrictions Moses Williams, c. 1802–1825. APS. President: Linda Greenhouse biostasis, commercial satellite-based elec- of biostasis, commercial usually work part-time, part-year, during on social interaction be lifted? The best we Peale-Sellers Family Collection. Executive Officer: Robert M. Hauser tronic communication, human health, and a training period and when the Museum can do is stay informed and flexible in deal- Please send comments to computing. We also received a very large satellite-based electronic is open. The budgetary impact of that ing with whatever lies ahead. Alison Swety Beninato, Associate bequest from the estate of the late Sibyl communication, human promise was mitigated by a successful The APS has been attentive to the ur- Editor, at [email protected]. Golden, daughter of William T. Golden application for salary support to nonprofit gent concerns about racial injustice raised (APS 1982), which will add substantially health, and computing. organizations under the CARES Act. by the killing of George Floyd. The APS to research support from the Lewis &

1 that emphasized racial and gender deter- clusion, diversity, equity, and access in much Council includes two other Black Members minism. Today the papers of Franz Boas of what it does and, more importantly, what and 13 women Members. Diversity is (APS 1903), one of the founders of mod- it endeavors to do in the future. an important aspect of committees that ern anthropology, are one of the jewels of The APS membership is striving to influence and determine the future of the The APS and the Library. Boas rejected eugenic ideas achieve a balance of gender, race, ethnicity, Society. The Chair and another member of that stressed biological sources of racial and geographical location among its the six-person Committee on Nomination and ethnic differences. Such ideas were goals. Of current Resident Members, 246 of Officers are Black and three members prominent in his day, and one of their (29 percent) are women, 44 are Black (5 are women. Women are in leadership leading advocates was Charles Davenport percent), 33 are Asian (4 percent), and 2 positions as Chairs of each of the five Class (APS 1907), whose papers are also housed are Native American. Of 28 Resident Committees on Membership. in the Library. Boas, instead, argued that Members elected in April 2020, 6 are APS Meetings, one of the central Inequality culture was more important than biology Black, 3 are Asian, and 13 are women. The activities of the Society, have addressed to explain differences between peoples. He Society’s Officers and Council also reflect issues of race, economic inequality, and even directly refuted the earlier arguments this aspiration. Currently, the President social justice. Among these was a 2015 made by APS Member Samuel George of the Society is Linda Greenhouse panel that examined Reconstruction’s Members and staff at the American Philosophical Society paused to reflect Morton, a position chronicled in a 2008 (APS 2001), the first woman elected to failure to address the damage wrought on our past and think about our future as the nation reckoned with racial injustice APS publication, Franz Boas and W. E. B. that position. The Officers of the Society by slavery and racism and how those Du Bois at Atlanta University, 1906. The include three Vice Presidents who are “injuries of the past carry into the future”; a in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Society today has embraced the ideals of in- either a woman or person of color. The November 2016 talk on “How to Achieve

ORN IN THE MIDST OF A SOCIETY enmeshed in it elected three: Maria Mitchell, a renowned slavery, the APS’s history is inextricably entwined astronomer, discoverer of Comet 1847 VI, and with race, slavery, and, later, pseudoscientific ideas professor at Vassar College; Elizabeth Cabot that supported and perpetuated racist beliefs Agassiz, a naturalist, writer, and the co-founder and practices. Many early APS Members were and first president of Radcliffe College; and Mary slaveholders themselves, most notably the Society’s F. Somerville, a mathematician, physicist, and long-serving President, Thomas Jefferson. astronomer. Indeed, throughout the early 19th century, While many pioneering Black scientists and the Society published flawed treatises that used thinkers made contributions that equaled those of race as a way to explain and justify inequalities APS Members, people such as Benjamin Banneker, among people, and it elected Members whose George Washington Carver, and W. E. B. Du Bois, accomplishments rested on claims of scientifically to name a few, it took the Society over 200 years to established differences between races. One elect American political scientist and Nobel Peace Bneed look no further than the recently reissued Prize Laureate Ralph Bunche (APS 1950) as its 1843 edition of the Proceedings of the American first Black Member. Philosophical Society to see the ways in which the Still, as with the country itself, there is another Society served as a conduit for such ideas. In side to the story, perhaps best embodied in the a volume that otherwise celebrated the 100th Society’s founder, Benjamin Franklin. A slave- anniversary of the Society’s founding, the Society holder for a large portion of his adulthood, published two papers that APS Executive Officer Franklin became an outspoken abolitionist later Robert M. Hauser (APS 2005) described in the in life, notably serving as the founding president foreword as “egregious for their patently racist of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society, the first content.” The authors were two APS Members, such organization of its kind in the United States. Benjamin Coates (APS 1823) and Samuel George Throughout the 19th century, the Society’s mem- Morton (APS 1828). The Society disseminated the bership continued to include antislavery advo- Proceedings throughout the country and globe, thus cates. When the Civil War broke out, the Society both legitimating and circulating those ideas. The expelled Matthew Fontaine Maury and William APS Library holds portions of Morton’s papers, Lynch because they joined the Confederacy, the “Does anyone suppose that any woman in all the ages has had a fair chance to It took the Society over 200 years to elect its first Black Member, Ralph Bunche, some of which argue, falsely, that the study of only time the Society has ever taken such an action. show what she could do in science?”—Maria Mitchell. Mitchell was a renowned in 1950. Bunche was an American political scientist, academic, and diplomat astronomer, discoverer of Comet 1847 VI, and professor at Vassar College. who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize. The problem persists 70 years skulls proves cognitive differences between races. And while the Society promulgated ideas After the APS elected Princess Dashkova in 1789, it took 80 more years for later. Black Members compose only 5 percent of membership. Increasing In other ways also, the Society both reflected based in scientific racism, it also embraced other the APS to elect another woman. In 1869, the APS elected three more women, Black representation among its Members remains a concern and priority of and reinforced systemic social inequalities. After ideas—ideas that were, in some measure, out- including Mitchell. the Society. electing Russian princess Yekaterina Vorontsova- side of the mainstream of their day. Indeed, the Dashkova to membership in 1789, the Society Society’s history is replete with Members who failed to elect another woman until 1869, when bucked popular scientific and intellectual trends

2 American Philosophical Society, Autumn 2020 3 MUSEUM

Most notably, under the leadership of Martin Levitt (APS 2010), the Library launched an initiative to return digital sur- Virtual Programs Education rogates of its Native American linguistic & and ethnographic data to Native American communities. To aid the Library in its ap- As all things education and programming have shifted to a virtual environment, propriate use of such material, the Library where does that leave the Education Programs Department? established an advisory board composed of scholars, APS Members, Indigenous com- munity leaders, and archivists in 2006. The TAKING ADVANTAGE of the opportunities culmination of their work came in 2014, afforded to us by not handling over when the Library established Protocols for 190,000 visitors to a real-life exhibition, the Treatment of Indigenous Materials. The the Education Programs Department Protocols have served as a model for other has been working on updating offerings institutions because they stress the central- and modernizing to match the digital ity of community collaboration and consul- needs of our audiences. These updates and tation in the stewardship of such material. modernizations include programs like In 2019, the Society endowed the Center Career Chats, Editing the Declaration, A for Native American and Indigenous Malignant Tale, and APS at Home. Research, an outgrowth of the project. Career Chats aligns with Pennsylvania Thanks to a recent grant from The Andrew and Philadelphia educational standards W. Mellon Foundation, the Library today focused on career education and career supports the Native American Scholars readiness. After developing closer ties Initiative, which aims to help diversify with the School District of Philadelphia higher education by launching new fellow- and participating in multiple outreach op- Funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Native American Scholars Initiative (NASI) was portunities at schools, like career fairs and formed to increase access to the Society’s collections by Indigenous scholars and bring diversity to ships and initiating seminars and confer- in-school programming, the Education higher education and libraries. APS staff, fellows, and NASI interns at a Digital Knowledge Sharing ences that will serve nontraditional schol- staff wanted to keep the conversation on Workshop in 2018. Photo by Jessica Frankenfield. ars and researchers. museum, library, and archive careers going. APS and Museum of the American Revolution teacher workshop The Museum, the Society’s most public- from Summer 2019. Photo by Adrienne Whaley. The program features conversations with Gender Equality in Pay”; and a November the Society has done with respect to race facing program, has used the Society’s the Head of Education Programs and APS 2017 talk that asked “What Is Wrong and ethnicity, we do know that, recently, collections to explore these issues in staff members on their careers, education, ter able to discuss the pros and cons of the launched in the spring. APS at Home is a with American Schools?” and answered more women than men received grants. several recent exhibitions. Most notably, and real-world experiences. The conversa- Declaration based on its legacy throughout hub for the activities that so often provided that the racial and ethnic achievement gap Recognizing the Society’s long history in 2016, it mounted Gathering Voices: tions are recorded and then uploaded to time. Museum visitors an accessible and friendly largely explains why American schools rank of supporting scholarship on Native Thomas Jefferson and Native America, an the Society’s YouTube channel for view- A Malignant Tale focuses on the 1793 window into the Society. Typically led and behind many of their peer countries around American history and culture, in 2015, the exhibition that highlighted the effects of ing. Among the objectives of the program yellow fever epidemic through a lens created by either the Museum Managers or the globe. The Committee on Meetings APS Publications Department entered colonization on Indigenous communities is the hope that, by providing examples, provided by the Wyck Association Papers. the Museum Education Coordinator, these plans to feature related presentations in into a partnership with the University of and their cultural resilience in the face of representation, and real conversations on Initially having a small portion of the activities reflect themes or objects in the the future. Nebraska Press to create a series entitled such pressure. Other recent exhibitions these career trajectories for students, we program dedicated to the perspective of the exhibitions. These activities can expand to The Research and Grants Department “New Visions in Native American and have featured sections on the history of can increase the diversity of our respective Free African Society and the Black nurses reflect APS collections more broadly. Now has long supported efforts to advance Indigenous Studies.” The series is co- colonization, Native American history and fields—which are predominantly white. who often cared for the sick during the clustered into categories like “art,” “his- knowledge about marginalized groups edited by Robert Miller (APS 2014), a rights, gender discrimination, and racism. Editing the Declaration is inspired by epidemic, the department used the summer tory,” “science,” and “interdisciplinary,” the and support the careers of scholars from citizen of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe The Museum’s Education program has one of the many collaborations the de- break to add materials to that section. activities can fit whatever needs a parent groups historically underrepresented in of Oklahoma, and it hopes to increase also made a concentrated effort to develop partment has done with the Museum of Suffice it to say, the program also takes or caregiver might have in the home. APS the academy. For almost 100 years, the awareness of Native American issues curricula and activities that confront these the American Revolution. Initially created on a new relevance during a pandemic in at Home activities are still provided free Society has supported research on Native through scholarship, ideally work done by issues. for a teacher workshop hosted in Summer our own time. Research into how to better of charge, are easy to download, and try to American culture and history through Native scholars or in collaboration with There is surely more to do, and certainly 2019, this now-digital resource provides discuss the harsh realities of loss from such feature household materials. its Phillips Fund program. The Franklin Indigenous communities. more to do in a concerted and conscientious classroom activities and connections to a time is currently being conducted, with The Education Programs Department Research Grant program also has provided The Library has invested enormous way. In July, Executive Officer Robert APS materials focused on the Declaration a focus on trauma-informed pedagogy. The always seeks to serve our audiences in the support to many scholars exploring the resources in recent years to make its M. Hauser asked each APS department of Independence. In the wake of ongoing staff is working on how to best make the best, most accessible and equitable, ways history of race, slavery, and inequality. In material more accessible to communities to consider ways in which it can more societal unrest just a year after that ini- hands-on, experiential program we created possible. A pandemic and reckoning with 2005, the Society created the John Hope that have historically not been served by directly confront issues of inequality. Racial tial program, the department updated the into a virtual offering for schools starting the realities of white supremacy are now Franklin Dissertation Fellowship to the APS Library. The Digital Library inequality is central to this charge, but the resource to include an activity on com- in Fall 2020. By adding the lesson materials pushing the department to continue and support graduate students from historically now receives over 1,500 users a month, far aim is also to find other ways to increase paring the Declaration to similar docu- to our website, we now invite non-school- improve on that work in things we have underrepresented groups. Aware that the more than the Library could ever welcome inclusion, diversity, equity, and access. The ments created to advocate for the rights based groups to take part in the learning done, are doing, and plan to do. We hope Society should be more mindful about in person, and several of its recent digital goal is to use the Society’s resources to of groups not reflected by the Founding provided to us by that collection. you are able to take advantage of these diversity, this year the APS added an projects highlight collections that tell promote equality—and, in turn, enliven Fathers. By comparing documents like In keeping with the spirit of our free, “new” offerings and activities! option for applicants to report their race the story of marginalized individuals and and strengthen the Society’s original Dolores Huerta’s Proclamation of the hands-on programming for intergenerational Michael Madeja, and ethnicity. While we cannot yet say how communities. mission of promoting useful knowledge. Delano Grape Workers, students are bet- audiences, the webpage APS at Home was Head of Education Programs

4 American Philosophical Society, Autumn 2020 5 MUSEUM MUSEUM

Franklin used it as a venue to publish three institutions participated in these unethical Observations on Humankind: articles himself, including the 35-page practices. The resulting studies would lend essay on “sundry Maritime Observations,” scientific support to pro-slavery arguments which included a detailed account of the and laid the foundation for scientific racism Gulf Stream. The essays highlighted the that emerged in the 19th century. They also “best of ” American science and intended shed light on Deborah Franklin and how to show the world that Americans were enslaved people were mistreated and used engaged in the latest scientific debates. by white scientists. APS Member John Morgan, doctor and We wanted Museum visitors to reflect Addressing co-founder of the medical school at the not just on Franklin and his colleagues, College of Philadelphia, published an essay but on their own biases, which have been in Dr. Franklin, titled, “Account of a motley coloured, or shaped by society and have roots in the pye Negro Girl and Mulatto Boy, exhibited 18th century. On display in the exhibition

Citizen Scientist before the Society in the Month of May, Antislavery medallion given to Benjamin Franklin is a 1763 letter that provides a glimpse by Josiah Wedgwood. Wedgwood Anti-Slavery into how Franklin confronted his own Medallion, William Hackwood, ca. 1787. prejudices. Upon observing students in Racism Ceramic jasperware. APS. the Bray School for Black children in Philadelphia, Franklin wrote that he now We wanted Museum 1784, for Their Examination.” The essay had “a higher Opinion of the natural includes a very detailed account of the Capacities of the black Race, than I had ever visitors to reflect not just on bodies of Adelaide and Jean-Pierre, two before entertained . . . I will not undertake HEN I STARTED AT THE APS, my directive was . . . this very boy was shewed in Pennsilvania as Franklin and his colleagues, 2-year-old enslaved children with vitiligo. to justify all my Prejudices, nor to account to be lead curator of an exhibition on “Benjamin a great rarity.” The mention of “Dr. Franklin” and They were studied by natural philosophers for them.” This letter appears with several Franklin and science.” From the start, incorporat- “his lady” gave me pause. Franklin himself never but on their own biases, for the same reason as people with albinism. other documents that address Franklin’s ing slavery and racism into the narrative was a pri- published writings speculating on human origins The APS and the Royal Society thus changing racial biases throughout his ority; after all, the science of human difference was or the origins of human difference. However, the which have been shaped by participated in the exploitation of enslaved lifetime. an important debate in the 18th century, and slav- topic was an important one in the 18th century as people in the name of scientific research. This letter provided the inspiration for ery affected all areas of early American life. I knew natural philosophers debated monogenesis versus society and have roots in These twoTransactions from the Royal an in-gallery installation that encourages it would be difficult to find stories in the Franklin polygenesis. Were all humans the same species? Society and the APS will be on display people to reflect on their own prejudices. Papers about slavery that related directly to science. Or were there multiple species? How could the 18th century. in Dr. Franklin, Citizen Scientist, allowing Franklin is often remembered as an Luckily, my co-curator Emily A. Margolis was also Black parents produce a white child? These were visitors to see for themselves how cultural abolitionist, but he took almost a lifetime Wdedicated to this task. The exhibition becameDr. questions that occupied many European scientists, to become one. Despite writing the Franklin, Citizen Scientist. We dedicated a section including friends of Franklin. abovementioned letter in 1763, he did not of the exhibition to the science of human differ- TheTransactions article reveals two important make a clearly antislavery public statement ence titled “Observations on Humankind,” which things about the Franklins. First, while Franklin until 1772. Franklin was a slaveowner for explicitly addressed structural racism. never wrote down his theories on the subject, he far longer than he was an abolitionist. APS The events of 2020 have given the exhibition, was involved in conversations about them. Parsons Head of Education Programs Michael which remains shuttered until at least April 2021, specifically mentions that they conversed about Madeja directed the development of a new urgency. Here, I want to highlight three the “white” man of African descent. Franklin was framed poster that will ask visitors a series objects from the exhibition that do important work also curious about the subject. Why else would of questions alongside information about in addressing institutional involvement in unethical Deborah Franklin think to send him the child’s Franklin’s changing behaviors and attitudes scientific practices, Franklin’s racial biases, and hair? Second, the essay implicates Deborah in toward slavery. slavery. these activities and discussions. While Franklin When Dr. Franklin, Citizen Scientist Fairly early in the research process, I came across was in London between 1757 and 1762, Deborah does open to the public, I hope it provides an article in the 1765 volume of the Philosophical chose to attend the public display of an enslaved an honest and thought-provoking inter- Transactions of the Royal Society of London. “white” African child. Such public spectacles were pretation of Franklin’s participation in the The article was submitted by James Parsons, a common, but nonetheless reveal her interest in science of human difference. I hope the ex- physician, antiquarian, and Fellow of the Royal such topics. She acquired some of the child’s hair hibition becomes a space where people can Society. Titled “An Account of the White Negro and sent it enclosed in a letter to her husband in reflect and be inspired to change society for shown before the Society,” the essay includes a London. This letter is now lost, but what kind of the better. The first step is acknowledging detailed description of an enslaved young man observations did that letter contain? the past. with albinism. Of note is a passage where Parsons Volume two of the Transactions of the American Janine Yorimoto Boldt, recalls a conversation with “Dr. Franklin,” who said Philosophical Society (1786) includes a very similar 2018–2020 Andrew W. Mellon Foundation “that while he was in England before, he received a article. Published to draw attention to Philadelphia Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellow letter from his lady, in which was some of the wool as the scientific center of the United States, the of a white negro child’s head, by way of curiosity volume was in many ways an ode to Franklin’s career. Excerpt from Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, vol. 2, 1786.

6 American Philosophical Society, Autumn 2020 7 LIBRARY LIBRARY

this work is a complete re-cataloging of all In total, the 5-day symposium ended up All the while, Library & Museum staff past APS Meetings videos. We hope that attracting over 1,500 individuals. All videos have continued to make headway on im- From the this new video platform will make it easier are now posted online, and the APS Press portant ongoing projects and launched sev- for people to find and use these videos, will produce an anthology of the papers eral new ones with an eye toward a future in especially teachers and students. With our that were presented. which we can all once again return to work. archivists and catalogers working diligently With Dr. Franklin, Citizen Scientist Our collaboration with the David Library to update our finding aids and improve our practically completed but delayed for of the American Revolution (DLAR) con- records, it feels strange to say, but I believe at least a year, the Museum staff began tinues to gain steam. In February, we ac- Librarian our collections will be in a stronger position researching ways to create a virtual tour cepted over 8,000 volumes and 9,000 reels Like so many institutions, the Library & Museum when we reopen. so people could experience the exhibition of microfilm from their collections. Thanks has had to adapt to the unexpected this year. Our programming staff also adapted online. To support both this project and to the efforts of our catalogers and archi- quickly to the changes wrought by the several others, the Society applied for vists working remotely, the David Library pandemic. Within a week of our closure, and received a National Endowment for material will be ready for researchers as we began to host virtual programs. Our the Humanities (NEH) CARES grant. soon as we reopen. Thanks to a grant from W E OPERATED SMOOTHLY AND online programs have been a smashing Despite there being over 2,300 applicants, the McLean Contributionship, we also successfully for much of the year—until success, regularly surpassing the attendance the NEH could only award 317 grants. have purchased a high-speed scanner that March, that is, when the Society had numbers of our in-person events and Our success is a testament to the ingenuity will allow us to digitize all 9,000 reels of to adjust to a world disrupted by the allowing us to connect with many APS and dedication of our staff, as well as a DLAR microfilm, making access easier coronavirus. While the second half of the Members, APS Friends, former fellows, sign of the strength of our collections and for researchers. We have launched several year was marked by several unforeseen and researchers who live far from Museum program. David Center programs that focus on the events, the Library & Museum staff Philadelphia. The Museum’s virtual tour will allow Revolutionary era and will welcome our showed incredible resilience and, thanks to The highlight of our virtual offerings was visitors from around the world to walk first David Center fellows in the coming their perseverance, had several impressive our symposium held in June, “Evidence: through our gallery and learn about sci- year. accomplishments. The Use and Misuse of Data.” Though ence in the age of the Enlightenment. In anticipation of the 250th anniversary When we drew the curtains on our scheduled far before the pandemic’s onset, Indeed, we hope that our experience this of 1776, and with the establishment of Mapping a Nation exhibition in December it proved timelier than we could have year might lay the foundation for develop- the David Center well underway, the 2019, we celebrated one of the most imagined when first planned in the fall of ing virtual tours for all of our future exhi- Library & Museum took the lead in successful shows ever. This exhibition set 2019. The keynote presentation, featuring bitions. Such tours provide a great way to organizing a multi-institutional project a new attendance record, hosting over APS Members Richard Shiffrin, Kathleen preserve the work online and disseminate entitled “Revolutionary City: A Portal 190,000 people. We also welcomed 129 Hall Jamieson, Stephen Stigler, and Linda it to a wider audience for a longer period to the Nation’s Founding.” Our hope is teachers to workshops and other programs Greenhouse, drew almost 400 viewers. of time. that over the next several years, we will related to the exhibition, more than ever digitize all Revolutionary-era manuscript before. The scholarly conference inspired by material at the APS, Historical Society Mapping a Nation had over 300 in-person of Pennsylvania, and Library Company attendees, while 1,435 people viewed it of Philadelphia and create a shared online. digital repository that houses all of these Mapping a Nation was longtime Museum items. The long-term goal is to create a Director Merrill Mason’s final show, and its platform by which other, smaller archives success was a testament to the incredible can contribute their material as well. We work she put into enlivening the exhibi- applied for and received an Institute of tions and making the work accessible to Museum and Library Services National Mohegan girl, 1909–1932. Lantern slide. Frank G. Speck Papers. APS. Jessica Markey Locklear, the 2019 wider audiences. After Ms. Mason’s retire- Martin L. Levitt Fellow, digitized the 400+ images of anthropologist Frank Speck’s (1881–1950) lantern Leadership Grant to pilot the technology ment, the Society decided to integrate the slide collection. These images document hundreds of Indigenous communities from central and eastern and test this project’s feasibility. Library and Museum into a single unit. North America. Finally, there was one major project that While Library and Museum staff had al- we continue to pursue; the installation of ways worked closely together, the Society There was growing excitement for our more than ready for the exhibition to open compact shelving in the Library. Space for hoped that staff would find even more ways planned 2020 exhibition, Dr. Franklin, on April 3, 2020. Of course, none of this new collections is tighter than ever, and the to collaborate by more formally merging Citizen Scientist, as it was going to be the happened, and, indeed, none of it will shutdown may provide an opportune time the previously separate units. first exhibition mounted under this new happen until at least April 2021. for us to make such major renovations to Throughout the fall of 2019, we held configuration. The Center for Digital Nonetheless, when the Society shuttered the Library’s space. With this addition, we monthly brown bag lunches that allowed Scholarship developed an impressive digital its offices, we saw an opportunity for will be able to bring the Museum’s artifacts staff to learn more about their colleagues’ project that complemented the exhibition. innovation, adapting to these unexpected back into Library Hall and create additional work. Almost immediately, we began to Education staff planned to incorporate this circumstances so that the Society could room for our continued acquisitions of see the benefits of our integration. This project into their programming so it could continue to serve its mission “to promote important material. new working arrangement allowed us As always, I welcome any thoughts or reach more classrooms. Our Scholarly useful knowledge” in this new environment. APS fellows with Head of Scholarly Programs Adrianna Link and Librarian and Director of the Library to brainstorm future exhibition topics, Programming Department collaborated Our collections staff began a series of & Museum Patrick Spero in December 2019. L-R: S. Prashant Kumar, Janine Yorimoto Boldt, Emily A. ideas you have. Please feel free to email me launch new programming initiatives, plan with the exhibition’s curators to develop remote cataloging projects that will Margolis, Adrianna Link, Timothy Bowers Vasko, Bethany Farrell, Julie Fisher, Jeffery Appelhans, Hannah at [email protected]. for a better allocation of space, and draft a several programs meant to promote their improve both descriptions of and access Anderson, Gina Surita, Megan McDonie, and Patrick Spero. Photo courtesy of Johanna Austin, www. Patrick Spero, Librarian and revised collection development policy. contributions. By all accounts, we were to our materials. One of the highlights of AustinArt.org. Director of the Library & Museum

8 American Philosophical Society, Autumn 2020 9 CONSERVATION PUBLICATIONS

Conservation Department Donates PPE to Philadelphia From the Publications Department

be ready for Lieutenant Joseph Millward’s THE PRODUCTION OF APS PRESS publica- 1,200+, pickup team from the Philadelphia Office tions has continued despite the restrictions of Emergency Management. created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The 57, 40, 24, The dire and rapidly changing aspect of APS offices closed in early March, and our the situation was pretty scary, especially work moved to a work-from-home status. 207, 12 in those early days. We didn’t know much Outside vendors also worked from home, about COVID-19 at the time—the means so work was able to proceed. Although of transmission were very vague, and it was production and printing initially were de- NO, THIS IS NOT SOME OBSCURE CODE or believed that all surfaces could transmit layed until printers reopened, normal op- a number series aptitude test. This particular the virus readily if contaminated. Mask use erations have now resumed. series of numbers represents the amount was discouraged; only caregivers of the sick Recent issues of the Proceedings of the of personal protective equipment (PPE) were to wear them. I used my conservator’s American Philosophical Society can be found the Conservation Department donated background knowledge to properly don and I talked and decided the best approach on the Current Publications section of to the Philadelphia Office of Emergency doff nitrile gloves for my work. I erred on would be for me to collect the PPE from the APS website. Print copies of the Management in March 2020. Specifically, the side of caution seeing that gloves were, the APS and store it in my car until he and journal mail to subscribers and scholarly Spreading the Word: Scottish Lunar Calendars of the Pre- A Life for Water: A Memoir by Publishers and English Columbian Maya by Harvey M. Luna Bergere Leopold, edited those figures represent (respectively) almost by some, viewed as essential protection. I could coordinate the exchange. On March institutions and are available to Members Literature 1750–1900 by Lionel Bricker and Victoria R. Bricker. by Claudio Vita-Finzi, Madelyn every nitrile glove, respirator, surgical Things became even hairier when, on 26, I was able to drive the PPE out to an upon request. Proceedings, Volume 163, Gossman. Leopold, and Penelope Vita-Finzi. and dust mask, respirator filter, protective March 23, we were alerted of a staff member auxiliary warehouse set up in Northeast Number 3 includes an article by David S. clothing, and eye goggles/safety glasses that who exhibited the classic symptoms of Philadelphia. Lieutenant Millward was the Tatel (APS 2007), “Separation of Powers we could scrounge from the many places COVID-19 (thankfully, it turned out to epitome of the friendly, coolheaded, and and Statutory Interpretation: A Battle recent Transactions publications include mittee on Publications meetings have con- where the Conservation Department be a lousy cold and sinus infection). In any knowledgeable firefighter I’ve experienced Hidden in Plain Sight,” which won the Season of Conspiracy: Calvin, the French tinued virtually, and, as always, we encour- keeps disaster supplies at the ready, as well case, along with the issued alert, staff were over my years here in Philadelphia, and I 2020 Henry Allen Moe Prize. Reformed Churches, and Protestant Plotting age submissions in all scholarly disciplines. as routine stock within Franklin Hall and instructed to stay home and away from the really wanted to give him a hug once the Three APS Members have authored in the Reign of Francis II (1559–60) by Mary McDonald, Director of Publications the Library. And then there were over 200 APS, with one final trip allowed to collect transfer was complete. Alas (as we both recent Transactions of the American Philip Benedict; Biblioteca Angelica ms. non-conservation-grade gloves that were the supplies and equipment needed to lamented), we are huggers, but not now. The Philosophical Society books. Claudio Vita- 1551 and the Origins of Ethnohistorical v Print Issues v sent courtesy of our Facilities Department. work from home. I had gathered the PPE elbow bump had to suffice. And so, finally, Finzi (APS 1997), Madelyn Leopold, and Illustration of Asia and the Americas around Proceedings (Thanks, Nik Goripow!) but was still working out transfer of the Penelope Vita-Finzi collaborated to edit 1600 in Rome by Barbara C. Anderson; and the supplies were delivered. “Finally,” I say, The Publications Department mails print Backing up to the beginning of the John Milton’s Roman Sojourns, 1638–1639: materials with Lieutenant Millward. although only a week had passed since A Life for Water: A Memoir, a selection of copies of the Proceedings journal to story, Assistant Conservator Anisha Gupta After a few missed connections (Comcast Anisha hatched the plan. It was a week that informal essays by Luna Bergere Leopold Neo-Latin Self-Fashioning by Estelle Haan. American Philosophical Society Members (who’s always in the know) was one of the and the Internet can’t find me in the bowels felt like an eternity. (APS 1972) written over the course of Proceedings journals and Transactions upon request. If you are a new Member of first in the conservation community to of the Library), Lieutenant Millward and Anne Downey, Head of Conservation his long career. Victoria R. Bricker (APS monographs are archived through JSTOR, the Society, or if you are a Member not cur - recognize a need for PPE. In an email to 2002) finished Lunar Calendars of the the online scholarly library. The site rently on the mailing list and wish to be, Associate Conservator Renée Wolcott and Pre-Columbian Maya, the work she and her contains material from the time Benjamin please contact the Publications Department me on March 18, Anisha explained that late husband, Harvey M. Bricker, worked Franklin printed the first Transactions ([email protected] or aswety@ hospitals were getting dangerously low on on after the printing of Astronomy in the in 1771 and is a valuable resource for amphilsoc.org) to have your name added to the Member mailing list. There is no cost. masks and gloves. She had heard another Maya Codices (Memoirs, Volume 265, 2011). researchers and scholars. The 2019 Yearbook conservator say that their lab was donating Lionel Gossman (APS 1996), who has is on the Members Only website. Print equipment to hospitals, so Anisha thought published several other works with the copies of the yearbook, as well as print that the APS could do the same. She Society, wrote Spreading the Word: Scottish copies of the 2019 Member Directory, were noticed that we had equipment such as Publishers and English Literature 1750– mailed to the APS in July once APS offices v We Are Accepting Manuscripts! v gloves and N95 masks that would be useful 1900. A fourth APS Member publication, reopened. to medical professionals. scheduled to print in early 2021, is Benjamin Proceedings of the International Symposium The APS Press accepts scholarly manu- scripts of virtually any length for the We all agreed this was the right thing Franklin, Swimmer: An Illustrated History on the Future of Learned Academies printed Proceedings journal and the longer mono- to do. Anisha immediately filled in the as part of our Special Publications series. by Sarah B. Pomeroy (APS 2014). graph series of publications, including Personal Protective Equipment Donations Other APS-related publications that will Copies of the book were mailed to conference Transactions and Lightning Rod Press. Form on the Philadelphia Department of print within the next year are collections participants and sponsors. This work follows Members are invited to submit their manu- Public Health website. I think her early of papers from conferences sponsored or last year’s publications, Patrick Spero’s (APS scripts for possible publication and to en- work on this, and her posts on social media, co-sponsored by the Society. These upcoming 2019) The Other Presidency: Thomas Jefferson courage their colleagues to send their man- helped other conservators in our area books include The Art of Revolutions; The and the American Philosophical Society and uscripts to the Society for consideration. All follow suit. After Anisha initiated contact, Spirit of Inquiry in the Age of Jefferson; John Van Horne’s (APS 2005) Two Chips manuscripts sent to the Publications office are sent out for review, read by the I started unearthing the PPE we had stored Above Right PPE ready for delivery. Photo by Anne Downey. Above Willman Spawn Conservation Intern The Past, Present, and Future of Libraries; Off the Same Block: Benjamin Franklin’s Committee on Publications, and fully dis- in the various outposts throughout the two Joanna Hurd spent only two weeks at the APS before COVID-19 sent all staff home, but in that time and The Power of Maps, The Politics of Borders. Library Company and Philosophical Society cussed at a Committee meeting before any buildings. I scooted from place to place, she examined and documented 13 rolled certificates from the Kane Family Papers, helped Assistant and the Saga of Their 275-Year Relationship. Papers from additional conferences are publication decision is made. IKEA bag in tow, to ultimately dump my Conservator Anisha Gupta line an oversized map, and began sharing her extensive research on the pH scheduled to be reviewed and discussed by Please note that manuscripts may be and conductivity of bathing solutions. Photo by Renée Wolcott. haul into one large central pile that would the Committee on Publications. Additional submitted electronically or in print. Com-

10 American Philosophical Society, Autumn 2020 11 based on family surnames, artist, decade of creation, historic locations associated Seen at the with the painting, and attributes of the portrait (e.g., size of canvas, props, gender of the subject, etc.). Most of the subjects are colonists, though some portraits feature family, friends, and officials from England or elsewhere. My research into individual portraits resulted in several new sitter identifications and artist attributions, 1 which are included in the database. Most of the database was compiled when I was researching for my dissertation on the social functions of portraiture in co- lonial Virginia. The field of American art history has largely ignored the early South, and very little scholarship exists on colo- nial Virginia portraiture. I was interested in understanding trends in portraiture over time, particularly in relationship to the development of a plantation society, and began collecting all references to colonial Virginia portraits. By the time I defended my dissertation in 2018, I had about 500 individual portraits in a personal database. 2 3 These portraits spanned 150 years of colo- 1 Speakers Thomas E. Shenk (APS 2015), John nial history and allowed me to discuss the M. Barry, Peter Palese, Stacey Schultz-Cherry, and construction of kinship, gender, race, social Jeffery K. Taubenberger during The Next Influenza Pandemic symposium panel at the APS November status, and political ideologies through 2019 Meeting. Photo by Kelly & Massa. portraiture, as well as better understand both transatlantic and local cultural ex- 2 2019 Jonathan E. Rhoads Medal for Distinguished Achievement in Medicine winner change. The Omohundro Institute provid- Mina Jahan Bissell (APS 2007) and her guests at ed a platform and programmers who could the APS November 2019 Meeting. Photo by Kelly develop the website. I spent most of 2019 & Massa. preparing the data, obtaining permission to 3 APS G/FTED (Grantees & Fellows Together reproduce images, and working with devel- Encouraging Discovery) Fall 2019 salon at The Grolier Club of New York, featuring APS G/FTED opers to design the site. 4 5 Since the project launched in February alumna Barbara A. Shailor. L–R: William DeJong- Lambert, Cynthia Tobar, and James Wilson. Photo Mellon Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellow Launches 2020, I have been able to add several new by Alexis Anderson. entries to the database. A few of these I discovered on my own as I continued my 4 APS G/FTED alumni enjoying a salon evening at The Grolier Club. L–R: Margaret Samu, Susan research. In other cases, individuals reached Lukesh, and Laura Duvall. Photo by Alexis Colonial Virginia Portraits out to generously share portraits from their Anderson. private collections or smaller historic sites. Project 5 In early spring, Diana L. Kormos-Buchwald I plan to continue adding new entries hosted an APS G/FTED gathering at the Einstein 6 as I find them, as well as updating existing 7 Papers Project on Caltech’s campus. L–R: APS entries as I uncover new information. The G/FTED salon speakers Diana L. Kormos- THE COLONIAL VIRGINIA PORTRAITS project in the database, as well as portraits that are digital format of Colonial Virginia Portraits Buchwald and Jed Z. Buchwald (APS 2011) with Frances H. Arnold (APS 2018). Photo by launched this year and is available at www. presumed lost but are documented in ar- has made it easier to visualize relationships Alexis Anderson. colonialvirginiaportraits.org. Developed chival sources. between portraits and see trends in in collaboration with the Omohundro Museums, historic sites, archives, and 6 APS President Linda Greenhouse gave the portraiture over time. Hopefully, the site Society’s annual reading of the Declaration of Institute of Early American History & private owners have generously provided will bring more attention to early southern Independence, followed by a reading of Tracy K. Culture, Colonial Virginia Portraits is an more than 350 images to use on the site. art and assist and inspire other researchers Smith’s poem “Declaration.” Screenshot by Kyle open-access, interactive database of oil Users are able to browse through portraiture who are interested in early American visual Roberts. portraits with a documented history in and material culture. 7 APS Executive Officer Robert M. Hauser and Virginia or featuring colonial Virginia Unknown artist, Maria Taylor Byrd (Mrs. William Janine Yorimoto Boldt, APS G/FTED alumni David Silverman, Christopher subjects painted before ca. 1776. All extant Byrd II, 1698–1771), probably 1724–1726. The 2018–2020 Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Bilodeau, and Ephraim Isaac at a November 2019 Metropolitan Museum of Art. portraits of which I am aware are included Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellow APS salon supper. Photo by Alexis Anderson.

12 American Philosophical Society, Autumn 2020 13 Scott Vernon Edwards, Alexander Agassiz Angela N. H. Creager, Thomas M. Siebel Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Professor in the History of Science, MEMBERS Biology, Curator of Ornithology, Museum Princeton University of Comparative Zoology, Harvard Catherine Gallagher, Ida May and University ELECTED William J. Eggers, Jr. Professor Emerita, David Ginsburg, Investigator, Howard University of California, Berkeley Hughes Medical Institute; James David Tracy, Andrew Thomas Greeley IN V. Neel Distinguished University and Grace McNichols Greeley Professor, Departments of Internal Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus Medicine, Human Genetics, and of Catholic Studies, Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics, Life Sciences Institute, Theology and the Philosophy of Religions, 0 0 University of Michigan University of Chicago Divinity School Carl H. June, Richard W. Vague Professor and the John U. Nef Committee on Social 22 in Immunotherapy, Department of Thought Class 1: Mathematical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and Physical Sciences David Wellbery, Director, Center for Director, Center for Cellular Interdisciplinary Research on German Ernest J. Moniz, Cecil and Ida Green Immunotherapies, Director, Parker Literature and Culture, Leroy T. and Professor of Physics and Engineering Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Margaret Deffenbaugh Carlson University Systems Emeritus, Special Advisor to Perelman School of Medicine, University Professor, Germanic Studies, John U. Nef the President, Massachusetts Institute of Pennsylvania Committee on Social Thought, University of Technology; CEO, Energy Futures Venki Ramakrishnan, Group Leader, of Chicago Initiative; Co-Chair and CEO, Nuclear MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology; Threat Initiative; Former U.S. Secretary Fellow, Trinity College, Cambridge; of Energy Class 5: The Arts, Professions, President, The Royal Society, London and Leaders in Public and James M. Moran, Senior Scientist, Private Affairs Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory; Class 3: Social Sciences Donald H. Menzel Professor of Elizabeth Alexander, Essayist, Poet; Astrophysics Emeritus, Harvard Mahzarin R. Banaji, Richard Clarke President, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Cabot Professor of Social Ethics, University Marin Alsop, Music Director, Baltimore Department of Psychology, Senior Symphony Orchestra; Chief Conductor, Sidney Nagel, Stein-Freiler Distinguished Advisor to Dean, Faculty of Arts and Vienna Radio Orchestra, Ravinia Festival; Service Professor, James Franck Institute, Sciences, Harvard University; External Director, Graduate Conducting Studies, Enrico Fermi Institute; Department of Faculty, Santa Fe Institute Physics, University of Chicago Peabody Institute, Johns Hopkins Joyce Chaplin, James Duncan Phillips University; Conductor of Honor, Monica Olvera de la Cruz, Lawyer Professor of Early American History, São Paulo Symphony Taylor Professor of Materials Science Harvard University and Engineering, Professor of Chemistry, Louise Henry Bryson, Chair Emerita, Professor of Chemical and Biological Alondra Nelson, President, Social Science Founder, Getty Conservation Council, Engineering, Professor of Physics and Research Council; Harold F. Linder Chair, J. Paul Getty Trust School of Social Science, Institute for Astronomy, Director of the Center Lonnie Bunch III, Secretary, Smithsonian Advanced Study for Computation and Theory of Soft Institution Materials, Deputy-director of the James C. Scott, Sterling Professor Carla Hayden, Librarian, Library of Rantchewaime (Female Flying Pigeon). Color lithograph of a portrait painted by Charles Bird King, Center for Bio-Inspired Energy Science, of Political Science, Professor of Congress Ioway (Iowa) woman, wife of Mahaskah (White Cloud), 1837. APS. Northwestern University Anthropology, Professor of Forestry & Eva Tardos, Jacob Gould Schurman Environmental Studies, Yale University Goodwin Liu, Associate Justice, California Supreme Court Professor of Computer Science, Cornell Alan Taylor, Thomas Jefferson Foundation International Members Eva Schlotheuber, Professor of Medieval Ewine van Dishoeck, Professor of University History, Heinrich Heine University Molecular Astrophysics, Leiden Chair in American History, University of David W. Oxtoby, President, American Lia Addadi, Professor, Department of Virginia Academy of Arts and Sciences; President Düsseldorf, President of the German Observatory, University of Leiden; Structural Biology, Dorothy and Patrick Historical Association External Scientific Member, Max Class 2: Biological Sciences Emeritus, Pomona College Gorman Professorial Chair, Weizmann Planck Institute Extraterrestrial Physics; Institute of Science John James Skehel, Emeritus Scientist, Jeanne Altmann, Eugene Higgins Class 4: Humanities André Watts, Pianist; Jack I. and Dora Scientific Director, NOVA UK National Institute for Medical Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary B. Hamlin Endowed Chair in Music, Caroline Astrid Bruzelius, Anne Murnick Maribel Fierro, Research Professor, Research (NIMR); Emeritus Scientist, Robert Tony Watson, Former Professor Biology Emerita, Princeton University Distinguished Professor of Music, Indiana Cogan Professor Emerita of Art and Art Institute of Languages and Cultures of Francis Crick Institute and Director, Tyndall Center for Climate University History, Duke University the Mediterranean (ILC), CSIC (Consejo Change Research, University of East Superior de Investigaciones Científicas) Anglia

14 American Philosophical Society, Autumn 2020 15 Jefferson Foundation at Monticello. • Annette Gordon-Reed was named a University Professor, Harvard University’s highest faculty APS honor. • The Society for Classical Studies has created the Erich S. Gruen Prize to honor Erich S. Gruen. • Jennifer Higdon received a 2020 Classical Grammy Award in the Best Contemporary Classical Composition category. • A recording of Jennifer Higdon’s Percussion Resolution 0 0 Concerto was inducted into the National Recording Registry. • Eric NEWS OF MEMBERS Horvitz was appointed Microsoft’s first ever Chief Scientific Sent to Congressional Leaders, Officer. • Walter Isaacson received the Nashville Public Library Literary Award. • Shirley Ann Jackson received the 2019 Joseph Proposing the Introduction of a National Defense Education Act 2Paul Alivisatos was awarded2 the American Chemical Society’s 2021 A. Burton Forum Award. • Kathleen Hall Jamieson was awarded for the 21st Century Priestley Medal. • Danielle Allen received the 2020 John W. Kluge the National Academy of Sciences’ 2020 Public Welfare Medal. Prize for Achievement in the Study of Humanity from the Library of • Kathleen Hall Jamieson was elected a member of the National Congress. • Frances Arnold was named to the Pontifical Academy Academy of Sciences. • Carl June was elected a member of the of Sciences by Pope Francis. • Ruzena Bajcsy received the 2020 National Academy of Sciences. • Peter Katzenstein received the To the Leaders of Congress: National Center for Women & Information Technology Pioneer in 26th Johann Skyette Prize in Political Science. • Linda Kerber was Tech Award. • Kamaljit Bawa received the 2019 UNESCO Sultan named the American Council of Learned Societies’ Charles Homer The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted many We therefore ask you to consider a bold initiative Qaboos Prize for Environmental Conservation on behalf of the Haskins Prize Lecturer for 2020. • Philip Kitcher was awarded deficiencies in the preparedness of our country to re-energize education in this country as an Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, which the 2019 Nicholas Rescher Medal for Systematic Philosophy from for dealing with a world-wide disaster. The essential part of the recovery from our current he founded. • Gordon Baym was awarded the American Physical the University of Pittsburgh. • The Harvard Graduate School of nation’s medical, public health, and emergency national emergency. This effort draws inspiration Society’s 2021 Medal for Exceptional Achievement in Research. Education has created an endowed professorship named in honor infrastructure was unprepared for the many and from the National Defense Education Act of • Mina Bissell received the 2020 Canada Gairdner International of Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot. • Richard Meserve received the 2019 multilevel challenges. While we can point to 1958, a successful legislative initiative to support Award. • Nicholas Canny was awarded the Royal Irish Academy’s Eisenhower Medal from the American Nuclear Society. • Robert J. many contributing factors, in this letter we wish to education in response to a clear international Cunningham Medal. • Anne Case was elected a member of the Miller was named the Willard H. Pedrick Distinguished Research speak from the American Philosophical Society’s challenge. National Academy of Sciences. • Vinton Cerf was elected a member Scholar at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona history—particularly the commitment of our of the National Academy of Sciences. • Jonathan Culler was elected State University. • Gülru Necipoğlu was elected a fellow of the founder, Benjamin Franklin, to the promotion of WHEREAS, Factual evidence and fact-based a fellow of the British Academy. • Anne Cutler was elected a fellow British Academy. • Susan Neiman received the 2019 Volkmar and “useful knowledge.” decisions are the foundation of the nation’s of the British Academy. • Jean Dalibard was elected an international Margret Sander Prize from Deutsches Haus at New York University. strength and growth, and whereas, the promotion member of the National Academy of Sciences. • Peter B. Dervan • Stuart Orkin was awarded the King Faisal Prize in Medicine. • The effort to curb the spread of this disease has of education emphasizing the natural and social was named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. • Stuart Orkin was awarded the 2020 Harrington Prize for Innovation confronted Americans with drastic, life-altering sciences, analytical thinking, and fact-based Rita Dove received the W. E. B. Du Bois Medal from Harvard in Medicine. • Tim Palmer was elected an international member of changes in individual and collective behavior. decision-making is essential for the nation’s welfare, University’s Hutchins Center for African and African American the National Academy of Sciences. • James Peebles was awarded While based on the best available medical and it is Research. • Catherine Dulac was awarded a 2021 Breakthrough the Nobel Prize in Physics. • Fernando Pereira was elected to the scientific expertise, these changes have been Prize in Life Sciences. • Cynthia Dwork was awarded the Richard American Academy of Arts and Sciences. • Thomas Piketty was difficult for many to understand and accept, leaving RESOLVED, That Congress enact a “National W. Hamming Medal from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics elected a fellow of the British Academy. • Mary Robinson was the nation vulnerable to misleading and erroneous Defense Education Act for the 21st Century” to Engineers. • Kerry Emanuel received the BBVA Foundation’s elected an honorary fellow of the British Academy. • The National information. Rather than the deliberative, logical support at all levels the education of America’s Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Climate Change category. Science Foundation and the Department of Energy are naming a and analytical thinking that the country urgently youth in science, history, analytical thinking, and • Kerry Emanuel was elected a Royal Society foreign member. • new observatory after Vera C. Rubin. • James C. Scott received the needs, we find a disturbing skepticism toward the primacy of facts as the foundation of the Sandra Faber was awarded the Royal Astronomical Society’s Gold Social Science Research Council’s 2020 Albert O. Hirschman Prize. evidence-based policy-making; a reluctance to nation’s future health, general well-being, and Medal. • Sir Alan Fersht was awarded the Copley Medal of the • David Shulman was elected a fellow of the British Academy. • accept and apply scientific knowledge; and a lack security. Royal Society. • Harvey Fineberg was named chair of the Standing Kathryn Sikkink was elected a fellow of the British Academy. • of familiarity with the relevant lessons of history, Committee on Emerging Infectious Diseases and 21st Century Ruth Simmons was appointed to the Federal Reserve Bank of including long-past and more recent pandemics. Linda Greenhouse, Health Threats at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Dallas’ Houston Branch board of directors. • Sonia Sotomayor President and Medicine. • Elaine Fuchs received the 2020 Canada Gairdner was awarded the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Law. • For the Council of the International Award. • Howard Gardner received the 2020 Marc Tessier-Lavigne received the 2020 Gruber Neuroscience American Philosophical Society Distinguished Contributions to Research in Education Award from Prize. • The American Meteorological Society has created the new the American Educational Research Association. • Fabiola Gianotti Warren Washington Research and Leadership Medal in honor of was appointed to her second 5-year term as head of CERN. • Ruth Warren M. Washington. • Warren M. Washington received the Bader Ginsburg received the National Constitution Center’s 2020 Nierenberg Prize for Science in the Public Interest. • Steven Liberty Medal. • Laurie Glimcher was named to the Stand Up Weinberg was awarded the 2020 Special Breakthrough Prize in To Cancer Scientific Advisory Committee. • Jane Goodall was Fundamental Physics. • Patricia Wright was named the Herrnstein awarded the 2020 Tang Prize in Sustainable Development. • Corey Family Endowed Chair in Conservation Biology at Stony Brook Design: SDYM Goodman received the 2020 Gruber Neuroscience Prize. • Annette University. Gordon-Reed was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Thomas

16 American Philosophical Society, Autumn 2020 Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Philosophical Hall Philadelphia, PA 104 South 5th Street Permit No. 6122 Philadelphia, PA 19106-3387

November 2019 Awards A Word about the Penrose Association

Jacques Barzun Prize in Cultural History: Sarah E. Igo, in recognition of her A planned gift offers a way for you to establish book The Known Citizen: A History of Privacy in Modern America. a lasting legacy at the American Philosophical Society through a substantial contribution Karl Spencer Lashley Award: Wolfram Schultz, in recognition of his that may not be possible during your lifetime. discovery of reward-predicting signals carried by dopamine cells in the The Society gratefully recognizes those who midbrain and their critical role in reinforcement learning. have named us as a beneficiary in their wills, Patrick Suppes Prize in Philosophy of Science: Peter Godfrey-Smith, made us the beneficiary of a retirement in recognition of his book Other Minds: The Octopus and the Evolution of account or insurance policy, or established a Intelligent Life. charitable trust or annuity as members of the Richard A. F. Penrose, Jr., Association. For Thomas Jefferson Medal for Distinguished Achievement in Social Sciences: more information about planned giving Jane Goodall (APS 1988), in recognition of her pathbreaking, decades-long options and tax benefits, and to discuss how research on chimpanzees in Tanzania; her long-term efforts to understand and you would like your gift to be used, please illuminate the behavior of chimpanzees, including the nature of their family contact Linda Jacobs at 215-440-3434 or life, emotions, tool use, aggression, and utilization of their environment; and [email protected]. her ongoing commitment to protect these primates. This significant work has been universally acknowledged and rightfully celebrated.

APS President Linda Greenhouse holds the Barzun Prize certificate, between Michael Wood (APS 2004) and Barzun Prize winner Sarah E. Igo. • Linda Greenhouse holds the Lashley Award certificate, between Lashley Award winner Wolfram Schultz and John Dowling (APS 1992). • Linda Greenhouse holds the Suppes Prize certificate, between Philip Kitcher (APS 2018) and Suppes Prize winner Peter Godfrey-Smith.

Detail from Monarch butterfly (colored) with caterpillar, Titian Ramsay Peale (1799–1885), [1833]. Lithograph. APS. Upcoming Meetings of the American Philosophical Society The APS Library & Museum’s APS at Home program provides *Wednesday evening–Friday afternoon Thursday–Saturday Thursday–Saturday activities and crafts for homes and classrooms. Along with November 11–13, 2020 April 22–24, 2021 November 11–13, 2021 other art, history, science, and interdisciplinary activities and experiments, the Education Department created coloring *The Society’s November 2020 Meeting will be held virtually. For information regarding sheets with images from our Digital Library, including this required pre-registration for these sessions, please contact [email protected]. one. You can find them at https://www.amphilsoc.org/aps- at-home.