Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society 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 ...
in
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
,
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
, England. It was founded in 1819, and its museum collection forms the basis of
Leeds City Museum
Leeds City Museum, originally established in 1819, reopened in 2008 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is housed in the former Mechanics' Institute built by Cuthbert Brodrick, in Cookridge Street (now Millennium Square). It is one of nine s ...
, which reopened in September 2008. The printed works and papers of the society are held by
Leeds University
, mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased
, established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds
, ...
Library. The Society is a
registered charity
A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good).
The legal definition of a ch ...
under English law.
![Blue plaque, HSBC, Park Row, Leeds (25th August 2017)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Blue_plaque%2C_HSBC%2C_Park_Row%2C_Leeds_%2825th_August_2017%29.jpg)
Among the early members of the society were
John Marshall
John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longes ...
(President, 1820–26),
Benjamin Gott
Benjamin Gott (24 June 1762 – 14 February 1840) was one of the leading figures in the industrial revolution, in the field of textiles. His factory at Armley Mills, Armley, Leeds, was once the largest factory in the world and is now home to the ...
,
William Hey (President, 1831–33), and
Edward Baines and his son,
Sir Edward Baines.
Richard Reynolds was an honorary secretary. More recent Presidents include
John Le Patourel (1966–68).
Foundation
Robert Dennis Chantrell
Robert Dennis Chantrell ( Newington, Surrey 14 January 1793 – Norwood, 4 January 1872) was an English church architect, best-known today for designing Leeds Parish Church, now Leeds Minster.
Early life
Chantrell was born in Newington, Sou ...
won the competition to build the new Hall for the Society in May 1819 in
Classical style. The Hall was sited on the corner of Park Row and Bond Street in the Georgian west end of Leeds.
The foundation stone was laid by
Benjamin Gott
Benjamin Gott (24 June 1762 – 14 February 1840) was one of the leading figures in the industrial revolution, in the field of textiles. His factory at Armley Mills, Armley, Leeds, was once the largest factory in the world and is now home to the ...
on 9 July 1819 and the Hall was opened on 6 April 1821.
The Hall had a lecture theatre, library, laboratory and museum.
Charles Turner Thackrah gave the opening address, pointing out that the Hall would provide a place for "the conversational diffusion of knowledge".
Before the creation of any college or university in Leeds, the Society provided an important opportunity for civic education.
Later history
The Hall was refaced and extended in 1861-62 by Dobson & Chorley.
A new entrance was built on Park Row.
In 1876, the inaugural meeting of the Leeds Architectural Association was held in the Hall.
The Hall was badly damaged in an air raid in 1941 when many museum exhibits were lost, but the building was given a new concrete façade and remained as a museum until 1965.
The Hall was demolished in 1966.
William Gott
Lieutenant-General William Henry Ewart Gott, (13 August 1897 – 7 August 1942), nicknamed "Strafer", was a senior British Army officer who fought during both the First and the Second World Wars, reaching the rank of lieutenant-general while s ...
was a benefactor to the museum, and one of the Society's vice presidents in later life.
In 1925, the Society began publishing two journals: ''Proceedings of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society. Scientific section'' (which ran from 1925 to 1998, producing twelve volumes) and ''Proceedings of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society. Literary and Historical Section'' (which ran from 1925 to 1999, producing twenty-five volumes).
[https://leeds.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/44LEE_INST/13rlbcs/alma991014516409705181]
List of presidents
The following have been presidents of the society:
*1820–26:
John Marshall
John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longes ...
*1826–28:
Rev. W. H. Bathurst, M.A.
*1828–31:
Michael Thomas Sadler
Michael Thomas Sadler (3 January 1780 – 29 July 1835) was a British Tory Member of Parliament (MP) whose Evangelical Anglicanism and prior experience as a Poor Law administrator in Leeds led him to oppose Malthusian theories of population and ...
, M.P.
*1831–33:
William Hey
*1833–35: James Williamson, M.D.
*1835–37: Rev. Joseph Holmes, M.A.
*1837–40: Rev. Richard Winter Hamilton
*1840–42: Adam Hunter, M.D.
*1842–45: John Hope Shaw
*1845–50: Rev.
William Sinclair, M.A.
*1850–51:
William West, F.R.S.
*1851–54: Rev. Charles Wicksteed, B.D.
*1854–57: John Hope Shaw
*1857–58: James Garth Marshall, F.G.S.
*1858–59:
Rev. W. F. Hook, D.D.
*1859–61: Rev. Alfred Barry, M.A.
*1861–63:
Thomas Pridgin Teale, F.R.S.
*1863–66: Rev. Thomas Hincks, B.A.
*1866–68: Charles Chadwick, M.D.
*1868–72: John Deakin Heaton, M.D.
*1872–74: Rev. Canon Woodford, D.D.
*1874–76: J. I. Ikin, F.R.C.S.
*1876–78: Rev. J. H. McCheane, M.A.
*1878–81:
T. Clifford Allbutt, M.D., F.R.S.
*1881–83:
Rev. John Gott, D.D.
*1883–85: J. E. Eddison, M.D.
*1885–86: Edward Atkinson, F.L.S.
*1886–89: Thomas Marshall, M.A.
*1889–92:
Thomas Pridgin Teale, M.A., F.R.S.
*1892–94: Rev. J. H. D. Matthews, M.A.
*1894–96: Rev. Charles Hargrove, M.A.
*1896–98: Edmund Wilson, F.S.A.
*1898–1900:
Nathan Bodington, M.A., Litt.D.
*1900–02: J. H. Wicksteed, President Inst.M.E.
*1902–04:
Arthur Smithells
Arthur Smithells, CMG FRS (24 May 1860 – 24 February 1939) was a British chemist.
Early life and education
Smithells was born in Bury, Lancashire on 24 May 1860. His father James Smithells was a railway manager. He was educated at the Unive ...
, B.Sc., F.R.S.
*1904–06: J. E. Eddison, M.D.
*1906–09: E. Kitson Clark, M.A., F.S.A., M.Inst.C.E.
*1909–11: Rev. J. R. Wynne-Edwards, M.A.
*1911–12: C. T. Whitmell, M.A., B.Sc., F.R.A.S.
*1912–14: P. F. Kendall, M.Sc., F.G.S.
*1914–17: Rev. W. H. Draper, M.A.
*1917–19: James E. Bedford, F.G.S.
*1919–22: Sydney D. Kitson, M.A., F.S.A., F.R.I.B.A.
*1922–24: Arthur J. Grant, M.A.
*1924–26:
Walter Garstang
Walter Garstang FLS FZS (9 February 1868 – 23 February 1949), a Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford and Professor of Zoology at the University of Leeds, was one of the first to study the functional biology of marine invertebrate larvae. His ...
, M.A., D.Sc., F.Z.S.
*1926–28: Edwin Hawkesworth
*1928–30:
Frederick Woodward Branson
Frederick Woodward Branson, FIC, FCS (6 March 1851 – 30 November 1933) was a British chemist, glassblower, instrument maker and X-ray pioneer.
He worked with Jacob Bell & Co a chemist who reformed the profession, location Oxford Street London ...
, F.I.C.
*1930–32: E. O. Dodgson
*1932–34: A. Gilligan, D.Sc., F.G.S.
*1934–36:
Richard Whiddington, M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S.
*1936–39:
Hugh R. Lupton, M.C., M.A.
*1939–46: W. M. Edwards, M.C., M.A.
*1946–48: E. A. Spaul, D.Sc., Ph.D.
*1948–50: W. L. Andrews
*1950–52: J. N. Tetley, D.S.O., LL.D.
*1952–54: Terry Thomas, M.A., LL.D., B.Sc., Ph.D.
*1954–56: H. C. Versey, D.Sc., F.G.S.,
*1956–58: H. S. Vick, J.P.
*1958–60: H. Orton, M.A., B.Litt.
*1960–62: Sir George Martin, LL.D., J.P.
*1962–64: E. J. Wood, M.A.
*1964–66:
Reginald Dawson Preston, D.Sc., F.R.S., F.Inst.P.
*1966–68:
John Le Patourel, M.A., D.Phil.
*1968–70: G. P. Meredith, M.Sc., M.Ed., Ph.D.
*1970–72: J. G. Wilson, M.A., Ph.D., F.Inst.P.
*1972–74: J. Taylor, M.A.
*1974–76: H. Henson, D.Sc., Ph.D., F.R.E.S.
*1976–78: P. R. J. Burch, M.A., Ph.D.
*1978–81: R. Reed, M.Sc., Ph.D
*1981–83:
Lord Marshall of Leeds, M.A., LL.B.
*1983–85: B. R. Hartley, M.A., F.S.A.
*1985–87:
Dennis Cox, B.A., A.L.A.
*1987–89: B. Colville, M.B., B.S., F.R.C.G.P.
*1989–91: I. S. Moxon, M.A., B.A.
*1991–93: R. F. M. Byrn, M.A., Ph.D.
*1993–95: Mrs J. E. Mortimer, B.A.
*1995–97: A. C. Chadwick, B.Sc., Ph.D., D.Sc., C.Biol., F.I.Biol., F.R.G.S.
*1997–99: O. S. Pickering, B.A., B.Phil., Ph.D., Dip.Lib.
*1999–2003: P. J. Evennett, B.Sc., Ph.D., Hon. F.R.M.S.
*2004–06: M. R. D. Seaward, M.Sc., Ph.D., D.Sc., F.L.S.
*2007–09: C. J. Hatton, B.Sc., Ph.D., C.Phys., F.Inst.P.
*2010–13: A. C. T. North, B.Sc., Ph.D., C.Phys., F.Inst.P.
*2014-16: J. M. Hill B.A., D.Phil., D.Univ., F.E.A., F.R.S.A.
*2016–19 : C. J. Hatton, B.Sc., Ph.D., C.Phys., F.Inst.P.
*2020–: G. E. Blair, B.Sc., Ph.D., F.R.S.B., F.L.S.
Former curators of the museum (1821–1921)
*John Atkinson
*
Henry Denny
*
Louis Compton Miall
Louis Compton Miall FRS (12 September 1842, Bradford – 21 February 1921, Leeds) was an English palaeontologist and biologist who was Professor of Biology at the University of Leeds.
Early life
In 1857 Miall, under the direction of his father, k ...
*Henry Crowther
Other notable figures connected to the society
*
Etheldred Benett
Etheldred Anna Maria Benett (22 July 1776 – 11 January 1845) was an early English geologist often credited with being the first female geologist, having devoted much of her life to collecting and studying fossils that she discovered in South ...
– donor
*
Alexander Crichton
Sir Alexander Crichton (2 December 1763 – 4 June 1856) was a Scottish physician and author.
Medical career
Born in Newington, Edinburgh, Crichton received his M.D. from Leiden University, The Netherlands, in 1785. He developed his medical ...
– donor
*
Violet Crowther
Violet Mary Crowther (14 February 188425 June 1969) was a British museum curator. She was the Assistant Curator at the Abbey House Museum for more than two decades.
Biography
Violet Mary Crowther was born on 14 February 1884Civil Registration D ...
- curator
*
William Gott
Lieutenant-General William Henry Ewart Gott, (13 August 1897 – 7 August 1942), nicknamed "Strafer", was a senior British Army officer who fought during both the First and the Second World Wars, reaching the rank of lieutenant-general while s ...
- benefactor and vice president
*
James Kitson, 1st Baron Airedale
James Kitson, 1st Baron Airedale (22 September 1835 16 March 1911), PC, DSc, was an industrialist, locomotive builder, Liberal Party politician and a Member of Parliament for the Holme Valley. He was known as Sir James Kitson from 1886, until ...
and his father James Kitson,
Mayor of Leeds
The Lord Mayor of Leeds (until 1897 known as the Mayor of Leeds) is a ceremonial post held by a member of Leeds City Council, elected annually by the council.
By charter from King Charles I in 1626, the leader of the governing body of the bo ...
– new proprietary member and subscriber respectively in 1852–53
[
* Francis Lupton – proprietary member in 1852–53][
* William Middleton and his son John William Middleton – subscriber and new ordinary member respectively in 1852–53]
*James Motley
James Motley (2 May 1822 – 1 May 1859) was a Yorkshireman closely associated with South Wales and Borneo.
Life
Born in Leeds, the son of Thomas Motley (1781–1863) and Caroline Osburn (1795–1869), sister of noted Egyptologist William Osburn. ...
– donor
*Washington Teasdale
Washington Teasdale (8 August 1830 – 19 September 1903) was an engineer and photographer. He invented the field naturalist's microscope and was one of the first people to use lantern slides.
Early life
He was born in Brunswick Place, Leeds, ...
– member
* John Joseph Willson – member
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
*Leeds Museums & Galleries
Leeds Museums and Galleries is a museum service run by the Leeds City Council in West Yorkshire. It manages nine sites and is the largest museum service in England and Wales run by a local authority.
Visitor attractions
* Abbey House Museum
*Ki ...
Three Women: a plesiosaurus, a mistaken identity, and a hat.
{{Authority control
Organisations based in Leeds
Regional and local learned societies of the United Kingdom
1819 establishments in England
Organizations established in 1819
Leeds Blue Plaques
Charities based in England