The Lunar Men: The Friends Who Made the Future 1730-1810

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Researchers might also find useful information by visiting Birmingham City Archives https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/archives and the Centre for West Midlands History http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/activity/cwmh/index.aspx and West Midlands History. https://historywm.com/ What ran through it was a simple faith: the good life is more than material decency, but the good life must be based on material decency.

The Lunar Society, or Lunar Circle as it was first called, was one such club. It met in and around Birmingham, England between 1765 and 1813. It was the members of this club however, that would set it apart from any other. They cheerfully referred to themselves as the ‘lunatics’, but this could not have been much further from the truth, as the revolutionaries involved would change the face of the world forever.Before the French Revolution, intellectuals (both men and women) gathered in salons to talk about scientific and social issues. Now the English Industrial Revolution was about to become the ultimate fusion of science, social change, and revolution. And the Lunar Society formed a primary focus for such change.

The Society engages with speakers of national and international renown including scientists, engineers, bankers, business leaders, social and policy makers, politicians, leaders of local authorities, universities and local media through its programme of events. Past speakers have included:Josiah Wedgwood (1730 – 93), the father of English pottery, who was also Charles Darwin’s other grandfather. As an industrialist, he was dedicated to improving everyday life and brought affordable tableware to the masses. But who were these men that would meet every month to discuss how science and technology could be made to serve society for the good of all? The pioneers that together would bring about the ultimate fusion of science and social change that would fuel the fires and ignite the Industrial Revolution: Fraser, David. "Joseph Wright of Derby and the Lunar Society", in Egerton, Judy, Wright of Derby (London, 1990) This has been partly replaced by the very successful James Watt bicentenary 2019 trail due to major works developing the city centre. Using the 18 th century as a starting point, the project will look at the Lunar Society’s positive contribution to global issues like the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade, scientific and medical advances and the advancement of religious and political liberty. However, we will also take a more critical look at some of the Society’s more ambiguous activities, not least how some of its members benefitted from their links to international trade and slavery and the growth of the British Empire.

The Lunar Society, in collaboration with specialist solicitors VWV, has drawn together a varied panel to celebrate the way that the car and other forms of transport have shaped Birmingham and the West Midlands, and to explore the changes required to deliver mobility and urban wellbeing in years to come. of all the provincial philosophical societies it was the most important, perhaps because it was not merely provincial. All the world came to Soho to meet Boulton, Watt or Small, who were acquainted with the leading men of Science throughout Europe and America. Its essential sociability meant that any might be invited to attend its meetings." [23] Development [ edit ] Origins 1755–1765 [ edit ] Erasmus Darwin by Joseph Wright of Derby, 1770 ( Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery) The Lunar Society of Birmingham met monthly in the 1780s. It was called the Lunar Society because it met during the full moon. That way, roads were better lit for members who had to travel at night. In more recent times a new Lunar Society [47] was formed in Birmingham by a group led by Dame Rachel Waterhouse. Its aim is to play a leading part in the development of the city and the wider region. [48]However, the project will go beyond these early, often negative, colonial relationships and show how a more positive history has been created by the contribution of people from all over the Commonwealth to the development of Birmingham as modern multi-cultural city. The Lunar Society Heritage Trail Leaflet provides visitors and local residents with an introduction to the Lunar Society and 18th Century Birmingham by following in its members’ footsteps Yet it wasn’t until the untimely death of Dr Small in 1775 that the group of friends decided to meet monthly on the Sunday nearest to the full moon, so as to have enough light to ride home by. They had dinner at two and would continue until at least eight in the evening. As well as meeting they would often write to each other. When Darwin was unable to attend due to a fever he wrote a letter of lament for his absence: Ben Franklin set the pattern. The American Philosophical Society started out as his study group. Of course, Franklin's life was centered both on revolution and on tying scientific knowledge to practical social change. Today, we drop in on a remarkable gathering of famous men. The University of Houston's College of Engineering presents this series about the machines that make our civilization run, and the people whose ingenuity created them.