American Philosophical Society
Promoting Useful Knowledge Since 1743.
amphilsoc.org
- Congratulations to Emanuel Ax (APS 2009), who was named 2026 Musical America Artist of the Year. Ax is a classical pianist with a career spanning over 50 years, and has been a faculty member at The Julliard School since 1990.
- “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Check back weekly for APS Members' words of wisdom! #wordsofwisdom #education #peace
- Join the APS and the Library Company of Philadelphia for a free conference on "Black Declarations of Independence." This conference will explore how Black people have articulated, enacted, and reimagined freedom before and after 1776. Learn more and register here: bit.ly/4qYH9Wv
- 🏙️ How is history remembered in our cities? In her talk, "Black History in the Philadelphia Landscape," educator and historian Amy Jane Cohen discussed how history is memorialized in Philadelphia, highlighting the efforts of historian and collector Charles Blockson. #BlackHistoryMonth #Philadelphia
- 📚 Did you miss our public lecture on Greater Philadelphia: A New History for the Twenty-First Century? Catch it today on C-SPAN 2 at 4PM ET! Authors Howard Gillette and Charlene Mires discuss Philadelphia’s role in shaping the nation. 📺 Watch the event here after it airs: bit.ly/4k3JVa1
- ✍️ Applications are open for the Phillips Fund for Native American Research! It provides grants for research in Native American linguistics, ethnohistory, and the history of studies of Native Americans in the continental US and Canada. Apply by March 2! 🔗 Apply here: bit.ly/4995xez
- Congratulations to Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella (APS 2018) who was awarded the Order of Canada this month. Abella became a Supreme Court Justice of Canada in 2004 being the first Jewish woman and the first refugee to Canada to hold that position. 🍁
- “The ice-cold flame of the passion for seeking the truth for truth's sake must be kept burning, can be kept alive only if we continue to seek the truth for truth's sake." Check back weekly for APS Members' words of wisdom! #wordsofwisdom
- 📆 Join us on Feb. 12 for a free public lecture! “A Traveller from an Antique Land" will feature Natasha McEnroe from the Society of Antiquaries of London for a discussion on some of the Society’s treasures. 🔍 🔗 Learn more and register here: bit.ly/469hq50
- How did modern ideas of "intelligence" come about, and how have they influenced American education? This week's blog post by former fellow Jim Porter titled "Frederick Osborn: Reform Eugenics and Post-WWII Educational Policy" explores these questions. ✍️ bit.ly/4pYD6Io
- 🎙️ Did you miss Episode 3 of the APS podcast, Useful Knowledge? Tune in to hear from @joycechaplin.bsky.social about the life and work of Benjamin Franklin including his pivotal invention, the Franklin Stove. 🎧 Listen on Spotify: bit.ly/4r3au1p or Apple Podcasts: apple.co/45oTgmS
- 🧠 How did human beings evolve to think deeply and imagine new possibilities? Paleoanthropologist Ian Tattersall discussed this in his 2015 talk “A Context for the Emergence of Modern Human Cognition.” 🔗 Watch the full talk here: bit.ly/4aakssi
- 🔍 Come research with us! We're accepting applications for the Swan Foundation Short-Term Research Fellowships on Revolutionary-Era Material Culture with the David Center for the American Revolution and Swan Historical Foundation, Inc. 🔗 More info: bit.ly/45KIyrd
- #America250 is a nationwide event! Jurgen Buchenau, recipient of the Franklin Grant in 2004, 2013, and 2025 is joining North Carolina's James K. Polk State Historic Site for a lecture on Polk, the U.S.-American War, and Indigenous agency. Register here: bit.ly/4t1AIU6
- Deadline extended! Apply to the @mellonfoundation Native American Scholars Initiative (NASI) Predoctoral and Archives Training Fellowships by February 9. ✏️ 🔗 Find more information and apply here: amphilsoc.org/cnair-funding-oppor… #indigenousstudies #scholarship
- Congratulations to conductor Riccardo Muti (APS 1989) who was honored with the 2025 Ratzinger Prize by Pope Leo XIV in Rome! This award recognizes people who have made significant contributions to Christian art and culture.
- “Reading is the key that opens doors to many good things in life. Reading shaped my dreams, and more reading helped me make my dreams come true.” Check back weekly for APS Members' words of wisdom! #usefulknowledge #wordsofwisdom #rbg
- The APS is grateful to have received 3 National Endowment for the Humanities grants for Semiquincentennial programs! Funds will support its 2026 exhibition “These Truths: The Declarations of Independence,” educator workshop “America’s Forgotten Founders,” and digital portal "The Revolutionary City."
- Looking for new books to read in the new year? APS Members have you covered! Look to this week's blog post by Erin Farrell, APS Coordinator of Membership and Prizes, for an overview of recent Members' publications. 📚 #bookrecommendations #tbr bit.ly/4sNkKwn
- It’s been nearly 100 years since the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr. But he didn’t improve Black rights on his own. In this Meeting Talk Monday, historian Julie Fariman (APS 2025) discusses “We Went to Mississippi: Nurses' Civil Rights Activism of the Mid-1960s.” #civilrights #mlkday #nursing
- The APS is looking for a Director of Development! Apply by February 19. apply.interfolio.com/179918
- Former Lewis & Clark Fund recipient Justin Wang recently made a great discovery. He and fellow USC medical students found a cardiac anomaly in their anatomy lab--an extra vein flowing to the heart! They reported their findings in the European Journal of Anatomy. bit.ly/4iXDEfS
- The APS is hiring! Apply to the Communications Manager position by Feburary 12. apply.interfolio.com/179730
- Congratulations to Mary-Claire King (APS 2012) who was awarded the 2025 VinFuture Special Prize for Women Innovators! She was honored for her identification of the BRCA1 gene, responsible for inherited susceptibility to breast and ovarian cancers. bit.ly/49regdY
- Congratulations to Mary-Claire King (APS 2012) who was awarded the 2025 VinFuture Special Prize for Women Innovators! She was honored for her identification of the BRCA1 gene, responsible for inherited susceptibility to breast and ovarian cancers. bit.ly/49regdY
- The American Philosophical Society is hiring Museum Guides! Apply by February 9.
- “The good Education of Youth has been esteemed by wise Men in all Ages, as the surest Foundation of the Happiness both of private Families and of Common-wealths.” Check back weekly for APS Members' words of wisdom! #wordsofwisdom #benjaminfranklin #earlyamerica
- Join the APS as a Long-Term Research Fellow! Applications due this Friday. Click here for more information: amphilsoc.org/grants/fellowships#…
- Last summer, Eric Ross of UMass Amherst joined the APS as a Leon and Joanne V. C. Knopoff Research Fellow. He conducted research for his dissertation on scientific ethics, agency, and complicity in the Early Atomic Age. Learn about his work in this week's blog post: bit.ly/4qiDPF8
- How well do you know Benjamin Franklin? Tune in to the latest epsiode of "Useful Knowledge" with historian Joyce Chaplin (APS 2020) to hear about Franklin's scientific mind and his popular invention, the Franklin Stove. #america250 #benjaminfranklin bit.ly/4aXjCQt
- This week, we celebrate the 320th birthday of Benjamin Franklin, founder of the APS. In this Meeting Monday, journalist and biographer Walter Isaacson (APS 2005) compares two great minds in his talk, “Franklin and Einstein.” #benfranklin #alberteinstein bit.ly/3YxRzzL
- 250 years ago today, Thomas Paine's Common Sense was first published in 1776. It was the most influential pamphlet of the American Revolution. This first edition, first printing from our Richard Gimbel Collection shows the anonymous work that sparked a nation. #CommonSense250
- In 2022, Nathan Hadland visited the APS as a Lewis and Clark Fund recipient. Recently, he and a team from the University of Arizona have made fascinating discoveries about life in new habitats by studying the microbes that populate fresh lava! bit.ly/3NvYfff
- In 2022, Nathan Hadland visited the APS as a Lewis and Clark Fund recipient. Recently, he and a team from the University of Arizona have made fascinating discoveries about life in new habitats by studying the microbes that populate fresh lava! bit.ly/3NvYfff
- Congratulations to mathematician Ingrid Daubechies (APS 2003) who will be honored with the dedication of a street in Brussels! Daubechies is recognized for her work on modern image compression, including the JPEG format, and her advocacy for gender equality in the sciences. bit.ly/49k1CgM
- The APS project “Visualizing Women in Science” has been reviewed in Reviews in Digital Humanities! This journal highlights significant digital projects and provides formal evaluation for digital scholarship. bit.ly/4blJxS2 Explore the project here: bit.ly/45sbgwE
- “Let us then suppose that every art is capable of improvement, and let the people of America try the strength of their own genius.” Check back weekly for APS Members' words of wisdom! #usefulknowledge #wordsofwisdom
- 18th century newspaper carriers sometimes delivered New Year’s poems to their customers to garner tips. This 1784 poem suggests readers loved the drama of the revolution, stating “The More that’s kill’d, the more you’ll read.” bit.ly/48UPIuM
- Check out the newest APS blog post from archivist Melanie Rinehart discussing her project, the Smith-Houston-Ogden-Morris papers. It spans hundreds of years and includes prominent APS Members! bit.ly/4pkr77x
- The APS has been adding items to its archives for nearly 300 years with methods that have changed over time. In this Meeting Talk Monday, historian and journalist Jill Lepore discusses "Asymmetry in the Archives," or the inequality in what archives keep. bit.ly/4jci47m
- Join the APS and The Library Company of Philadelphia on January 6 for a new take on the Founding Father we thought we knew. Hear Joyce Chaplin (APS 2020) speak on Benjamin Franklin's scientific innovation and consumer invention, the Franklin stove. @joycechaplin.bsky.social bit.ly/4iMEfk4
- The APS has long supported projects that promote useful knowledge. In December 1772, author John Leacock asked APS Members to help fund his project for planting a public vineyard to make wine, joining him as "Adventurers." Read the full letter here: bit.ly/48TneBC
- In December 1732, Benjamin Franklin first published Poor Richard's Almanack, a calendar with weather predictions, information, and witty advice. This 1734 edition in APS collections includes an essay from "Poor Richard" (one of Franklin's alter egos) thanking readers for a successful first year.
- Benjamin Banneker and Andrew Ellicott were a notable duo in 1792—a Black man and a white man working together to draw the boundaries of a new federal district in Washington, D.C. Learn more in this week's blog post by Vincent Femia. bit.ly/4p7gJA4
- Are you busting out your cookbooks for your holiday preparations? This week's Meeting Talk comes from food historian Barbara Ketcham Wheaton, who spoke on "Cookbooks and Reality" at the November 2014 Members' Meeting. bit.ly/4qlVtHL
- Angela Oliverio, Lewis and Clark Fund recipient (2023-2024) has recently made a groundbreaking discovery. She and her student have found a novel eukaryote at Lassen Volcanic National Park called a "Fire Amoeba" that can reproduce at temperatures previously thought impossible! bit.ly/3KZSA0j
- Congratulations to historian and professor Gordon S. Wood (APS 1994), who was awarded the 2025 Irving Kristol Award by the American Enterprise Institute! It is the institution’s highest honor. bit.ly/48Uvznh
- On December 17, 1790, the APS awarded its first Magellanic Premium, created by John Hyacinth Magellan to recognize the most useful discoveries. This medal, currently in APS Museum collections, was awarded to civil engineer Lewis M. Haupt in 1887. bit.ly/4qyRcB5
- “If an idea has merit, one person can change the course of his or her family, the community, state, country, or the world.” Check back weekly for APS Members' words of wisdom! #usefulknowledge #publicpolicy #government
- Congratulations to Members Danielle Allen (APS 2015), Sylvester James Gates, Jr. (APS 2012), and Anthony Grafton (APS 1993), awardees of the 2025 Barry Prize from the American Academy of Sciences & Letters! #apsmembers #usefulknowledge bit.ly/4a9AVxr
