Records of Glasgow Philosophical Society, learned society, Glasgow, Scotland

• Minute books, 1802-1969
• Jurors report for Gas and Electricity Exhibition, 1880

Glasgow Philosophical Society was founded in 1802, the Society was later known as the Philosophical Society of Glasgow and was created the Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow by King Edward VII on the occasion of the Society’s centenary in 1902. The Society was established for the improvement of the Arts and Sciences in Glasgow. It set up a select library of scientific books and invited members to give scientific papers, and to exhibit models and artefacts at regular meetings. These meetings were held weekly in the winter months and fortnightly in the summer months. The society was administered by an elected council, which included a President and Vice-President, and from 1812 a librarian joined the ranks to oversee the running of the Society’s library.

The Society resided at various addresses until 1831, when a room in the Andersonian University, Ingram Street, Glasgow, Scotland was acquired. Meetings were held there until 1868 when the society moved to the new Corporation Galleries in Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow. Then in 1880, a new building was built in Bath Street, Glasgow, which housed the society and the Institute of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland. During the 20th century the Society’s membership experienced a decline and subsequently its assets were either sold off or dispersed. In 2003, the Society’s descendant body The Royal Philosophical Society is still active.

The arrangement of this material reflects the original order in which it was received

Access is open, however an appointment may be required. Please email Archives and Special Collections for advice: library-asc@glasgow.ac.uk

Deposit : John Lenihan : 6 May 1978 : ACCN 4350

See also University of Glasgow Collections

No known copies

Reproduction subject to usual conditions: educational use and condition of documents. Applications for permission to quote should be sent to Archives and Special Collections, please email: library-asc@glasgow.ac.uk

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GB 247 MS Gen 1756: Papers of the Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow, 1802-