The Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences is a

learned society A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an discipline (academia), academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and s ...

founded in 1799 in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

"to cultivate every art and science which may tend to advance the interest and happiness of a free and virtuous people." Its purpose is the dissemination of scholarly information. In the 2021–2022 academic year, the CAAS ha
250 members

Publications

''Transactions of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences''''Memoirs of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences''Catalogue of publications

Notable members

Asger Aaboe Asger Hartvig Aaboe (26 April 1922 – 19 January 2007) was a historian of the exact sciences and of mathematics who is known for his contributions to the history of ancient Babylonian astronomy. In his studies of Babylonian astronomy, he went b ...

, historian and mathematician * Hezekiah Augur, sculptor and inventor *

Simeon Eben Baldwin Simeon Eben Baldwin (February 5, 1840 – January 30, 1927) was an American jurist, law professor, and politician who served as the 65th governor of Connecticut. Education The son of jurist, Connecticut governor and U.S. Senator Roger Sherman ...

, jurist, law professor and governor *

Charles Emerson Beecher Charles Emerson Beecher (October 9, 1856 – February 14, 1904) was an American paleontologist most famous for the thorough excavation, preparation and study of trilobite ventral anatomy from specimens collected at Beecher's Trilobite Bed. B ...

, paleontologist * Bertram Boltwood, radiochemist *

Sheila Levrant de Bretteville Sheila Levrant de Bretteville (born 1940) is an American graphic designer, artist and educator whose work reflects her belief in the importance of feminist principles and user participation in graphic design. In 1990 she became the director of th ...

, graphic designer, artist and educator *

William Henry Brewer William Henry Brewer (September 14, 1828 – November 2, 1910) was an American botanist. He worked on the first California Geological Survey and was the first Chair of Agriculture at Yale University's Sheffield Scientific School. Biography Wil ...

, botanist *

George Jarvis Brush George Jarvis Brush (December 15, 1831 – February 5, 1912) was an American mineralogist and academic administrator who spent most of his career at Yale University in the Sheffield Scientific School. Career Brush was born in Brooklyn, New York o ...

, mineralogist and academic administrator * Henry A. Bumstead, electromagnetist *

Russell Henry Chittenden Russell Henry Chittenden (18 February 1856 – 26 December 1943) was an American physiological chemist. He conducted pioneering research in the biochemistry of digestion and nutrition. Early life and education He was born in New Haven, Connectic ...

, biochemist *

Edward Salisbury Dana Edward Salisbury Dana (November 16, 1849 – June 16, 1935) was an American mineralogist and physicist. He made important contributions to the study of minerals, especially in the field of crystallography. Life and career E. S. Dana was born in ...

, mineralogist and physicist *

Arnold Dashefsky Arnold Dashefsky, born in 1942, is a professor at the University of Connecticut who has written several books on the topics relating to Jewish ethnicity, culture, ideologies, among others. Dashefsky is currently director of the North American J ...

, sociologist * Franklin Bowditch Dexter, librarian and university administrator * Timothy Dwight *

Edson Fessenden Gallaudet Edson Fessenden Gallaudet (April 21, 1871 in Washington, D.C. – July 1, 1945 in Pine Orchard, Connecticut) was a pioneer in the field of aviation. He was best known for his development of practical airfoils and aircraft propulsion system ...

, aviator *

Josiah Willard Gibbs Josiah Willard Gibbs (; February 11, 1839 – April 28, 1903) was an American scientist who made significant theoretical contributions to physics, chemistry, and mathematics. His work on the applications of thermodynamics was instrumental in t ...

, physicist, chemist, and mathematician * Frank Austin Gooch, chemist and engineer * Henry Solon Graves, forester and educator * Charles Sheldon Hastings, physicist * Yandell Henderson, physiologist * James Mason Hoppin, educator and writer *

George Trumbull Ladd George Trumbull Ladd (; January 19, 1842 – August 8, 1921) was an American philosopher, educator and psychologist. Biography Early life and ancestors Ladd was born in Painesville, Ohio, on January 19, 1842, the son of Silas Trumbull Ladd and ...

, philosopher, educator, and psychologist * Joseph LaPalombara, political scientist *

Charles Lemert Charles Lemert (born 1937) is an American born social theorist and sociologist. He has written extensively on social theory, globalization and culture. He has contributed to many key debates in social thought, authoring dozens of books including hi ...

, sociologist * Linda Lorimer, university administrator * Chester Lyman, president *

George Grant MacCurdy George Grant MacCurdy (April 17, 1863 – November 15, 1947) was an American anthropologist, born at Warrensburg, Mo., where he graduated from the State Normal School in 1887, after which he attended Harvard (AB, 1893; AM, 1894); then studied in ...

, anthropologist *Richard Mammana, church historian and ecumenist *

Lafayette Mendel Lafayette Benedict Mendel (February 5, 1872 – December 9, 1935) was an American biochemist known for his work in nutrition, with longtime collaborator Thomas B. Osborne, including the study of Vitamin A, Vitamin B, lysine and tryptophan. ...

, nutritionist *

Hubert Anson Newton Prof Hubert Anson Newton FRS HFRSE (19 March 1830 – 12 August 1896), usually cited as H. A. Newton, was an American astronomer and mathematician, noted for his research on meteors. Biography Newton was born at Sherburne, New York, and gradu ...

, astronomer and mathematician *

Alexander Petrunkevitch Alexander Ivanovitch Petrunkevitch (Russian: Александр Иванович Петрункевич, December 22, 1875 in Plysky near Kyiv, now Ukraine – March 9, 1964 in New Haven) was an eminent Russian arachnologist of his time. From ...

, arachnologist * Charles Brinckerhoff Richards, engineer *

William North Rice William North Rice (1845–1928) was an American geologist, educator, and Methodist minister and theologian concerned with reconciliation of science and religious faith. Early life and education William North Rice was born November 21, 1845 in ...

, geologist, educator, Methodist theologian * John Rose, organist * Edward Elbridge Salisbury, Sanskritist *

Benjamin Silliman Benjamin Silliman (August 8, 1779 – November 24, 1864) was an early American chemist and science educator. He was one of the first American professors of science, at Yale College, the first person to use the process of fractional distillation ...

, chemist and geologist * Joseph Siry, architectural historian *

Gaddis Smith George Gaddis Smith (December 9, 1932 – December 2, 2022) was an American historian who was the Larned Professor Emeritus of History at Yale University and an expert on U.S. foreign relations and maritime history. Biography Born in Newark, New J ...

* Percey F. Smith, mathematician *

Jennifer Tucker Jennifer Tucker is Associate Professor of History and Science in Society at Wesleyan University. She is a Fulbright Scholar, founding director of Wesleyan's Center for the Study of Guns and Society, and a vice president of the Connecticut Academy o ...

, historian and biologist * Addison Van Name, librarian and linguist *

John Monroe Van Vleck John Monroe Van Vleck (March 4, 1833 – November 4, 1912) was an American mathematician and astronomer. He taught astronomy and mathematics at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut for more than 50 years (1853-1912), and served as ac ...

, mathematician and astronomer *

Addison Emery Verrill Addison Emery Verrill (February 9, 1839 – December 10, 1926) was an American invertebrate zoologist, museum curator and university professor. Life Verrill was born on February 9, 1839 in Greenwood, Maine, the son of George Washington Verrill ...

, president *

Noah Webster Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...

, lexicographer, author, editor, prolific author * Eli Whitney * William Kurtz Wimsatt, Jr., literary theorist and critic

Sources

*Rollin Gustav Osterweis, ''The Sesquicentennial History of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences'' (New Haven, 1949) *Mary Ellen Ellsworth, ''A History of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences 1799-1999'' (Transactions, vol. 55)

External links

*
Scholarly Societies entry
Learned societies of the United States Organizations established in 1799 Education in New Haven, Connecticut Culture of Yale University Organizations based in New Haven, Connecticut 1799 establishments in the United States {{Connecticut-stub