The Cambridge Philosophical Society (CPS) is a scientific society at the University of Cambridge. It was founded in 1819. The name derives from the medieval use of the word philosophy to denote any research undertaken outside the fields of

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...

, theology and medicine. The society was granted a royal charter by King William IV in 1832. The society is governed by an elected council of senior academics, which is chaired by the Society's President, according to a set of statutes. The society has published several

scientific journal In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. Content Articles in scientific journals are mostly written by active scientists such as ...

s, including ''Biological Reviews'' (established 1926) and '' Mathematical Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society'' (formerly entitled ''Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society'', published since 1843). ''Transactions of the Cambridge Philosophical Society'' was published between 1821–1928, but was then discontinued.

History

The society was founded in 1819 by Edward Clarke,

Adam Sedgwick Adam Sedgwick (; 22 March 1785 – 27 January 1873) was a British geologist and Anglican priest, one of the founders of modern geology. He proposed the Cambrian and Devonian period of the geological timescale. Based on work which he did on W ...

and

John Stevens Henslow John Stevens Henslow (6 February 1796 – 16 May 1861) was a British priest, botanist and geologist. He is best remembered as friend and mentor to his pupil Charles Darwin. Early life Henslow was born at Rochester, Kent, the son of a solicit ...

, and is Cambridge's oldest scientific society. Its prime purpose is to "keep alive the spirit of inquiry". For over 200 years, this spirit has been kept alive by its members and its activities. The society is independent of the University of Cambridge, although its offices are located within the University of Cambridge estate in central Cambridge. The Society has provided an open forum and played a key role in raising the profile of the sciences to the public. The society is a registered charity: 213811 and has 11 Trustees. It is assisted by a number of full-time and part-time paid staff. Membership of the Society is currently over 2,000.

Fellow of the Cambridge Philosophical Society

Members of the Society are called Fellows. Fellows are usually academics or graduate students involved in mathematical or scientific research within the University. A Fellow must be recommended in writing by both a Fellow of the Society who has been a member for at least three years and a person of appropriate standing, who knows the candidate in a professional capacity. Approved candidates are elected at open meetings of the Society following proposal at Council Meetings. The equivalent organisation for philosophers is the Cambridge Moral Sciences Club.

Journals

The society publishes one of the oldest mathematical journals in history; "Mathematical Proceedings" first published in 1843 and now published for Cambridge Philosophical Society by Cambridge University Press It has also published "Biological Reviews" since 1926.

Lectures

The society organizes lectures given by prominent scientists and mathematicians. The lectures are free and open to all who are interested to attend.

Nobel laureates

The Society has had numerous Fellows and Honorary Fellows who have been awarded the Nobel Prize. The first two recipients were Honorary Fellows Hendrik A Lorentz and Pieter Zeeman in 1902 for the

Nobel Prize in Physics ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...

. The Society's first women winner was Honorary Fellow Marie Curie in 1903 for the Nobel Prize in Physics. Marie Curie was the first person to win or share two Nobel Prizes, being awarded the

Nobel Prize in Chemistry ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then "M ...

in 1911. In 1964,

Dorothy Hodgkin Dorothy Mary Crowfoot Hodgkin (née Crowfoot; 12 May 1910 – 29 July 1994) was a Nobel Prize-winning British chemist who advanced the technique of X-ray crystallography to determine the structure of biomolecules, which became essential for ...

became not only the first female Fellow of the Society to win a Nobel Prize (Chemistry) but also the first female member of the University of Cambridge to do so. Currently 47 Nobel Prize winners are listed amongst its Fellows and Honorary Fellows of the Cambridge Philosophical Society.

Notable Fellows

Charles Babbage Charles Babbage (; 26 December 1791 – 18 October 1871) was an English polymath. A mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer, Babbage originated the concept of a digital programmable computer. Babbage is considered ...

Lawrence Bragg Sir William Lawrence Bragg, (31 March 1890 – 1 July 1971) was an Australian-born British physicist and X-ray crystallographer, discoverer (1912) of Bragg's law of X-ray diffraction, which is basic for the determination of crystal struct ...

* Francis Crick *

Paul Dirac Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac (; 8 August 1902 – 20 October 1984) was an English theoretical physicist who is regarded as one of the most significant physicists of the 20th century. He was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the Univer ...

* Stephen Hawking *

Antony Hewish Antony Hewish (11 May 1924 – 13 September 2021) was a British radio astronomer who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1974 (together with fellow radio-astronomer Martin Ryle) for his role in the discovery of pulsars. He was also awarded the ...

* Roger Penrose *

Lord Rayleigh John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, (; 12 November 1842 – 30 June 1919) was an English mathematician and physicist who made extensive contributions to science. He spent all of his academic career at the University of Cambridge. Amo ...

* Ernest Rutherford *

J.J. Thomson Sir Joseph John Thomson (18 December 1856 – 30 August 1940) was a British physicist and Nobel Laureate in Physics, credited with the discovery of the electron, the first subatomic particle to be discovered. In 1897, Thomson showed that ...

Alan Turing Alan Mathison Turing (; 23 June 1912 – 7 June 1954) was an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher, and theoretical biologist. Turing was highly influential in the development of theoretical co ...

Blue Plaque

To commemorate the Society’s bicentenary, a blue plaque to the Society was erected in March 2019 on 2 All Saints Passage (the house built by the Society in 1833 to house its meeting room, library and collections). The plaque was unveiled by

Sir Martin Rees Martin John Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from the royalsociety.org website where: (born 23 June 1942) is a British cosmologist and astrophysicist. He is the fifteenth Astronomer Royal, ...

at opening of the Society’s exhibition at

Cambridge University Library Cambridge University Library is the main research library of the University of Cambridge. It is the largest of the over 100 libraries within the university. The Library is a major scholarly resource for the members of the University of Cambri ...

Society Archives

The society has built up an exceptional historical scientific record dating back to 1819. While not on public display, the archives can be viewed by prior arrangement with the Cambridge Philosophical Society. The Society archives include the following: * Minutes of Council and of General Meetings * Membership and subscription records * Archives relating to the various premises occupied by the Society * Archives relating to the Society’s publications * Archives of the Library and Reading Room predating 1976 (the date at which the Library, by then known as the Scientific Periodicals Library and later as the Central Science Library, became a dependent library of Cambridge University Library) * Archives relating to events and activities * Some archives of individual members, such as Sir Joseph Larmor (1857–1942, physicist and mathematician)

Charles Darwin: Extracts from Letters to Henslow

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...

, a student at Christ's College, University of Cambridge, came to know

as his tutor and through his attendance at Henslow's scientific talks at the University. Darwin had been recommended by Henslow to take his place aboard the survey ship HMS ''Beagle'' on a two-year voyage to survey South America, which eventually lasted five years and circumnavigated the globe. During the voyage, Darwin corresponded by letter with Henslow after reaching South America, and collected specimens with him in mind, particularly plants. Extracts from ten of Darwin's letters from South America to Henslow were first read out at a meeting of the Cambridge Philosophical Society on 16 November 1835, around the time that the ship reached Tahiti. Two days later,

read geological notes based on the letters to the Geological Society of London. The Council of the Cambridge Philosophical Society had the extracts printed in a pamphlet dated 1 December 1835, for private distribution among the Members of the Society,. The pamphlet has been described as the first writing of Charles Darwin ever to be published, but earlier, while still at Cambridge University, he had his notes on insects published in a book by

James Francis Stephens James Francis Stephens (16 September 1792 – 22 December 1852) was an English entomologist and naturalist. He is known for his 12 volume '' Illustrations of British Entomology'' (1846) and the ''Manual of British Beetles'' (1839). Early ...

. The readings were held and the pamphlet '' Extracts from Letters to Henslow'' was printed without Darwin's knowledge. Upon learning of this pamphlet, Darwin was "a good deal horrified" at Henslow making public "what had been written without care or accuracy". The publicity helped Darwin's career, and at the end of his life acknowledged their friendship as the most important "circumstance" of his life. The original pamphlet is now rare. According to American Book Prices Current only four copies have appeared at auction since 1975. On 19 June 2014 Christies auctioned an original copy in New York (Sale 2861) and realised $221,000. In 1960 it was reprinted privately to mark the 100th anniversary of the publication of the "'' Origin of Species''" on 26 November 1859 and issued to Members and Associates of the Society.

References

External links

Cambridge Philosophical Society

University of Cambridge

Discovery: 200 Years of the Cambridge Philosophical Society
{{Authority control 1819 establishments in England Philosophical Scientific societies based in the United Kingdom Philosophical societies in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1819