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Academy’s Past: Where It All Began

The Lyceum shared its first home with the College of Physicians and Surgeons, not far from the City Hall building that still stands today.

Published June 25, 2024

By Nick Fetty

The College of Physicians and Surgeons | 3 Barclay Street | January 1817 – April 1817

The story of The New York Academy of Sciences starts where many New York stories have – in downtown Manhattan.

It was here, on Barclay Street, near Broadway, that The Lyceum of Natural History in the City of New York (“The Lyceum” – which would become The New York Academy of Sciences in 1876) was founded. The Lyceum shared the building with the College of Physicians and Surgeons, part of the Medical Department of Columbia College, which moved into the space in 1813.

Originally built as a brick store house, the 25-foot by 38-foot, three-story building was later adapted to meet the needs of the medical school. This included a chemical lecture room, a lecture hall, and an anatomical theatre. Ornamental details included “a terminal balustrade and a cupola, surmounted by a statue of Apollo, to indicate the scientific and medical character of the institution.”

Establishing a ‘Cabinet of Natural History’

At the time, the Lyceum’s membership was largely composed of associates of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, including Dr. Samuel L. Mitchell, who served as the Lyceum’s first president. The first meeting was held at the Barclay Street facility on January 29, 1817, when members considered “the adoption of measures for instituting a ‘Cabinet of Natural History’ in New York City.”

The cabinet would eventually include numerous natural history displays and artifacts, many collected by Lyceum members, and would go on to rival the collections of the New-York Historical Society. The Lyceum’s collection ultimately became so extensive and popular with its members and visitors, that in 1820, “the Historical Society relinquished its collecting functions to the Lyceum, to which it also sold its valuable collection of natural history objects.”

The Lyceum hosted its preliminary meetings in this facility before officially adopting a constitution. The first formal meeting was held at Harmony Hall, a public house on the southeast corner of Duane and Wiliam Streets, where the original 21 members signed the constitution, and the first officers were elected.

By this time, the Lyceum had established its cultural utility to the city and was ready to move to its next home.

This is the first piece in an eleven-part series exploring the Academy’s past homes.

A hand-drawn rendition of the first home for the Academy, then called “the Lyceum.” © Koren Shadmi

The Academy’s Role in Asbestos Abatement

While the United States recently took formal action to ban the use of chrysotile asbestos, experts with The New York Academy of Sciences have voiced concern about this dangerous carcinogen for more than half a century.

Published April 5, 2024

By Nick Fetty

Piping with an asbestos wrap.
Image courtesy of Alan Levine/Flickr.

In March 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a regulation prohibiting “the use, manufacture and import of chrysotile asbestos,” a source of mesothelioma and the last known raw form of asbestos used in the United States.

While banning this dangerous substance has been a work in progress for more than half a century, The New York Academy of Sciences was one of the first organizations to voice concerns by expert scientists.

What is Asbestos?

Asbestos is a mineral fiber naturally occurring in rock and soil. Use of asbestos in the United States dates back more than two centuries, though it was during the Industrial Revolution (around the middle of the 19^th century) that asbestos imports began taking off.

Throughout much of the 20^th century, asbestos was used in different ways, but it wasn’t until around the 1930s that it began commonly being used in the construction of homes and buildings. Asbestos was used in an array of construction materials from insulation and pipe wraps to flooring and roofing. The first instances of asbestos-related diseases were reported in the 1920s and 1930s, though it would take nearly another half century before the U.S. government would begin regulating the use of the substance.

The Academy’s Involvement

*Image courtesy of* Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

It was during the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association convened at The New York Academy of Sciences in 1964 (then headquartered on the Upper East Side) where researchers began to engage in a serious dialogue about the negative public health effects associated with asbestos.

These researchers pointed to a study in Africa, in which there were 33 reported cases of mesothelioma in a particular region where asbestos is mined. Another study in New York City, examining workers exposed to asbestos during construction, found that of the nearly 307 construction trade union member deaths between 1943 and 1964, 10 were linked to mesothelioma. The report stated this was “an extraordinary high incidence for a tumor generally so rare.”

While researchers at the time admitted they did not have direct evidence, they were noticing linkages between occupational asbestos exposure and increased rates of cancers like mesothelioma. Another troubling aspect, as noted by the researchers, was that it can take a worker a latent period of 20 years or more between the time they are initially exposed to when they are diagnosed with cancer.

“It would appear that mesothelioma must be added to the neoplastic (cancer) risks of asbestos inhalation and joins lung cancer (53 out of 307 deaths) and probably cancer of the stomach and colon (34 out of 307 deaths) as a significant complication of such industrial exposure in the United States,” the Associated Press reported.

Regulating Asbestos

The first asbestos restrictions in the United States occurred in 1973, followed by other concerted efforts throughout the 1970s. The EPA attempted a complete ban on asbestos in 1989; however this effort was overturned by the First Circuit Court of Appeals in 1991. A 2022 rule by EPA was aimed at overturning this decision.

In March 2024, the Biden administration finalized the ban on chrysotile or white asbestos, the last remaining type of asbestos used in the United States. Companies will have up to 12 years to phase out the use of asbestos in their manufacturing processes.

The December 1965 issue of Annals that first reported these findings remains one of the most “sought and referenced” today, according to Douglas Braaten, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer for the Academy and Editor-in-Chief of Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. A subsequent Annals issue published in 1979 extended the reporting of hazards associated with asbestos exposure.

The Origin of the Term “Psychedelic”

The man who is known to have supplied author Aldous Huxley with hallucinogenic drugs publicly coined the word “psychedelic” during an Academy event in 1957.

Published April 4, 2024

By Nick Fetty

Psilocybin, also known as “magic mushrooms,” are among the hallucinogenic drugs that are studied for their medicinal and therapeutic benefits.

For many, the term “psychedelic” may conjure familiar images of the 1960s, mind-altering substances, and bands like Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead. What may be less well known is that the public origin of the term itself can be traced to an event held at The New York Academy of Sciences.

Humphry Osmond was a psychiatrist, researcher, and professor of psychology at the University of Alabama. He served as a psychiatrist in the navy during World War II and after his service began conducting research on the use of hallucinogenic drugs to treat mental illness and substance abuse.

The Origins of LSD

Osmond was interested in the work of Swiss chemist Albert Hoffman who, in 1943, discovered the hallucinogenic drug lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). This discovery actually came by accident, when Hoffman unknowingly ingested a small amount of the substance and experienced what’s believed to be the first “acid trip” as he rode his bike home, with some help from his assistant, after leaving the lab.

Word about the drug’s effects spread and eventually government intelligence agencies became intrigued in it’s (as well as mescaline’s) potential as a way to pry information out of individuals being interrogated. Osmond, however, saw a different application for the newly discovered drug and ironically enough thought it had potential to help treat substance abuse, specifically alcoholism.

Osmond moved to Saskatchewan, Canada in the early 1950s and conducted research at the Weyburn Mental Hospital with support from the Canadian government and the Rockefeller Foundation. Alongside Abram Hoffer, the duo experimented with LSD as a treatment, under carefully controlled conditions, for nearly 2000 patients struggling with alcoholism. The findings were quite promising, and the duo reported that 40 to 45 percent of those treated using LSD between 1954 and 1960 did not return to drinking after one year.

The Origin of the Term “Psychedelic”

During this era, Osmond connected with Aldous Huxley, the author renowned for his books Brave New World and The Doors of Perception. Osmond was known to supply Huxley with hallucinogenic drugs like LSD and mescaline.

Huxley and Osmond worked together to come up with a word to describe the effects of LSD. Huxley concocted “phanerothyme” by combining the Greek words for “to show” and “spirit” as well as the tagline: “To make this mundane world sublime, Take half a gram of phanerothyme.” Osmond, however, came up with his own phrase: psychedelic. He combined the Greek words for psyche (for mind or soul) and deloun (for show), along with his own rhyme: “To fathom Hell or soar angelic/Just take a pinch of psychedelic.” Osmond said the term meant “mind manifesting” and that it was “clear, euphonious and uncontaminated by other associations.”

Much like a user drops acid, Osmond dropped the term “psychedelic” during a meeting at The New York Academy of Sciences in 1957. His appearance at the Academy was part of his effort to discuss his research in this area, which was published as “A Review of the Clinical Effects of Psychotomimetic Agents” in the March 1957 issue of Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

A Revival of Alternative Therapies

However, as backlash to the “turn on, tune in, drop out” mantra of the 1960s, governments became concerned with the potential harm of the recreational use of LSD. New York State and California made it illegal to possess the substance in 1966, and four years later it became illegal at the federal level.

Research on using hallucinogenic drugs in medical applications has been revived in recent years and is now being studied to treat everything from substance abuse and depression to post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety. In at least one case in Silicon Valley, some have experimented with microdosing of psychedelic drugs (LSD and psilocybin) to improve work performance in areas like concentration and problem solving.

The Academy has a long history of hosting events that promote the use of alternative therapies to treat ailments. Reports from The New Yorker discuss the Academy’s involvement with therapeutic uses of meprobamate in the 1950s and hypnosis in the 1970s, while reporting in The New York Times examined research on the medicinal benefits of cannabis presented at the Academy in the 1970s. Today, the Academy continues to promote promising alternative therapies, including during a 2023 conference that examined near death experiences and the use of psychedelics in medical treatment.

A History of the Academy’s Digital Presence

Take a trip down memory lane and look at some of the Academy’s previous website designs.

Published March 20, 2024

By Nick Fetty

1996

Screenshot courtesy of the Wayback Machine

The Academy joined the digital age when its first website launched around 1996. At that time, the Academy was based out of its facility on New York’s Upper East Side, as can be seen in the image in the screenshot. The website provided an opportunity to promote longtime Academy publications such as Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences and The Sciences magazine, but it also opened new opportunities to share news and other announcements in real time as well as a new vehicle for recruiting members and engaging aspiring scientists.

2001

Annals continued to have a strong presence when the Academy released the second iteration of its website around 2001. As web technology continued to develop with the turn of the century, the site was able to embrace new capabilities such as providing a live calendar of upcoming events as well as access to press releases and digital photos. News stories from this era are a snapshot in time when issues such as West Nile virus and the “Harbor Project” (an effort to remove contaminants from the Hudson River) were making headlines.

2007

Though still text heavy, the third iteration of the Academy’s website launched around 2007, continued to prominently feature Annals, events, and Academy news. The site served as both a promotional vehicle and an application repository for the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists, which was first awarded in 2007. Also around this time, the Academy launched eBriefings, which provided an online recap of academic and scientific research presented during Academy events. Two years earlier, in 2005, the Academy moved its headquarters to 7 World Trade Center, as evidenced by the photos in the upper left and upper right sections of the screenshot.

2012

By the website’s fourth iteration in 2012, the Academy began refining its research focus in more specialized areas, including Life Sciences and Biomedical Research, Physical Sciences and Engineering, Science Education, and Nutrition Science. Some of these remain focus areas of the Academy today. The website showed more emphasis on fundraising, and also prominently placed press releases on the front page as a way to promote major Academy news and announcements.

2017

The fifth iteration of the Academy’s website was less text-heavy and more visual in nature, following the web design trends of the time. The interactive banner at the top of the page provided a prominent place to promote events, press releases, and other timely items. The Academy began putting more emphasis on its blog, which provided a platform to promote Academy happenings not covered by external media as well as a platform for Academy staff, Board members, and others to write thought-provoking pieces about their own areas of expertise. The e-newsletter and social media channels provided further avenues to stay up to date with the Academy.

2024

The Academy’s newest website, officially launched on March 11, 2024, features a clean layout with many visuals and shorter blocks of text. The design enables the embedding of video and other attractive visual elements on the homepage. The Academy continues to promote core programs such as Annals and events, but now also prominently features blog content as well as the Academy’s mission and global impact. The WordPress content management system is user-friendly for staff maintaining the website, and it also allows for greater customization compared to previous platforms. With this new vehicle, the Academy will continue to advance its mission of “science for the public good” by engaging new audiences and providing original multimedia content that showcases the work and accomplishments of the Academy, its members, and partners.

Learn more about the Academy’s history.

Celebrating Girls and Women in Science in NYC and Beyond

The New York Academy of Sciences has been promoting women and girls in science since at least 1877. Those efforts continue today.

A black and white photo of a woman. — *Erminnie Smith*

As the world celebrates the International Day of Women and Girls in Science on February 11, The New York Academy of Sciences is proud to reflect on its efforts of making the sciences more accessible for all.

The Academy began admitting women as members in 1877, more than four decades before passage of the 19^th Amendment which gave women the right to vote. Erminnie Adele (Platt) Smith, an ethnologist and geologist, was the Academy’s first female member in 1877.

With funding from the Smithsonian Institution, Smith established herself as a credible anthropologist through her work that examined American Indian ethnology. She published her research findings in Myths of the Iroquois in 1883. Smith founded and served as the inaugural president for the Aesthetic Society, a Jersey City-based organization that promoted “cultivation and education…in literature, science, and art.”

Women Scientists of the 20th Century

Moving into the 20^th century, the Academy saw more of its women members making significant scientific contributions in their respective fields. Nobel Laureates Gertrude B. Elion and Barbara McClintock are honorary Academy members from this era.

Eunice Thomas Miner’s impact on the Academy was immense from the moment she became involved in 1932. At that time the Academy’s membership was a mere 300 and its finances were in a state of flux. Miner worked her way up to serve as the Academy’s Executive Director. By the time of her retirement, membership had grown to more than 26,000 worldwide. Miner also played a significant role in procuring the Ziegler-Woolworth Mansion (2 E. 63rd Street), which served as the Academy’s home from 1950 to 2006.

The Academy promoted the research of Margaret Mead, who holds the distinction of being one of the 20^th century’s most prominent anthropologists. Her fieldwork in Bali utilized both photography and film, which was unprecedented for its time. Mead always had a concern about the place of science in society, contributing to the Academy’s mission of advancing science for the public good.

After becoming the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry in the United States, Marie Maynard Daly led innovative research connecting heart attacks and cholesterol. Daly served as a member of the Academy’s Board of Governors in the 1970s, helping to guide the Academy at a time when men outnumbered women nearly 10 to 1 in STEM fields.

Charlotte Friend established herself as pioneer in cancer research decades before becoming substantially involved with the Academy. Alongside fellow female scientist, Cecily Selby, the duo was among the first to link viruses and cancer. She briefly served as Chair of the Fellowship and Honorary Life Membership committee for the Academy, before becoming the Academy’s first female president in 1978.

Under Friend’s leadership. the Academy hosted the Women in Science and Engineering Conference in 1972. Organized on the heels of the affirmative action ruling, the conference focused on women pursuing studies and careers in STEM fields, which remains an emphasis at the Academy today.

Continuing a Proud Legacy

Brooke Grindlinger, PhD, the Academy’s Chief Scientific Officer, recently wrote in the Washington Post about parallels between the popular 2023 Barbie movie and gender equity.

A woman poses for the camera inside a science lab. — *Charlotte Friend*

“As a former Barbie doll aficionado, I see a future in which the screen portrayal of diverse women in STEM careers is the norm, breaking free from stereotypical depictions,” wrote Dr. Grindlinger. “STEM characters in ‘Barbie’ could catalyze a transformative shift, urging society to embrace a reality in which life imitates art.”

The Academy continues to promote girls and women in its current programming. Sixty percent of Junior Academy program participants identify as young women, and 60 percent of Team Leads within the program identify as young women. Surveys conducted by the Academy have found a nearly 50/50 split of female-identifying and male-identifying attendees during Academy-sponsored conferences.

This year’s observance of International Day of Women and Girls in Science serves as a potent reminder of the Academy’s ongoing commitment to its founding principles to enhance access to science for all.

Prehistoric Sloth-Like Creatures May Have Roamed the US, said Academy President 200 Years Ago

A skeleton of a prehistoric sloth-like creature.

An Annals article and lecture given by Samuel L. Mitchill in 1823 presented paleolithic research suggesting that the territory of the Megatherium americanum may have extended farther north than scientists had previously thought.

Published November 28, 2023

By Nick Fetty

An illustration of what the *Megatherium americanum* may have looked like.
Image by Nobu Tamura. Licensed via CC BY-SA 4.0.
No changes were made to the original work.

Massive sloth-like creatures may have been roaming the land that we now call the United States during the Pleistocene Epoch (between 2.6 million and 11,700 years ago), according to research presented by The New York Academy of Sciences’ first president two hundred years ago this month.

Samuel L. Mitchell, a prominent physician, scientist, politician, and founding member of the Academy (then known as the “Lyceum of Natural History in the City of New York”) gave a talk at the Lyceum on November 17, 1823, entitled “Observations on the teeth of the MEGATHERIUM recently discovered in the United States.”

This was followed by an article by the same name published in the inaugural issue of Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences in 1824. The article and lecture covered findings from Mitchell’s paleolithic research which suggested that the territory of the Megatherium (Megatherium americanum), a now-extinct species of giant ground sloth, may have extended farther north than scientists previously thought. This marked the first such recorded discovery north of the equator.

A Noteworthy Discovery

Mitchell received a set of fossil teeth that were discovered on Skidaway Island, just south of Savannah, Georgia. Mitchell noted that the teeth marked a noteworthy scientific discovery at that time, but bones that were discovered alongside the teeth were not able to be studied because of improper handling.

“These teeth are very remarkable, and differ much from any hitherto discovered in North America,” Mitchell wrote, adding “…there can be no doubt that the teeth in question belong to that extinct species, [known as] the Megaterium.”

A *Megatherium americanum* skeleton on display at the Natural History Museum in London.
Photo by Ballista.
Licensed via CC BY-SA 3.0 DEED.
No changes were made to the original work.

Built Upon Previous Findings

This discovery built upon similar findings from the late 18^th century (about fifty years prior) when a near-perfect skeleton of the Megaterium was discovered near Buenos Aires, Argentina. Years later, another specimen was discovered in Paraguay. The full skeleton was on display at the Royal Cabinet of Madrid (Spain) at the time Mitchell published his findings. Charles Darwin, another prominent member in the early history of the Lyceum, would go on to discover remains from another Megatherium in Argentina between 1832 and 1833.

The Megatherium was described as similar in size to a rhinoceros or elephant. Biologically, the furry creature occupied a space between a sloth (Bradypus Lin.) and an ant eater (Myrmecophaga Lin.), though it shared more characteristics with the former. Based on the form of the teeth and the structure of the claws, researchers hypothesized that the creature subsisted on vegetables, predominately roots.

5 1/2 Inches in Length

Mitchell described the fossils in his possession as “one tooth entire, with the exception of the fang which is broken transversely off, and the half of another, with the fang separated.” Each sample was square in shape, with rounded edges. Their approximate length of five and a half inches matched the description provided by previous researchers, indicating to Mitchell that these teeth were, in fact, likely those of a Megatherium. The teeth were black in color and the cutting edges were well-worn, indicating the animal’s likely advanced age at the time of its demise.

Mitchell, who arranged the Lyceum’s first formal meeting in 1817, concluded his paper by reemphasizing the importance of this discovery within the context of the natural history of the United States.

“Although, from the circumstances previously mentioned, it is hardly possible that a complete skeleton will be found, yet enough has been discovered to satisfy us, that the United States, which contains so many relics of huge animals, may add to her ‘giant brood,’ the Megatherium.”

Our History

The Inception of The Academy

The New York Academy of Sciences stands as a venerable institution with a rich and storied history that spans over two centuries. Established in 1817, the Academy has consistently been at the forefront of scientific exploration, education and the formulation of policies that shape our world. This enduring legacy continues to influence the course of science and society into our third century.

The Academy’s first home: On January 29, 1817, Academy founder Samuel Latham Mitchill convened the first meeting at the College of Physicians & Surgeons in lower Manhattan.

1800-1850

1817

At a time when New York City north of Canal Street was fields and forests, when the only academic route to a scientific education was medical school, and when learned societies were often reserved for men of wealth, a small group of young naturalists banded together to create the Lyceum of Natural History, founded on egalitarian principles. On January 29, 1817, Academy founder Samuel Latham Mitchill convened the first meeting at the College of Physicians & Surgeons in lower Manhattan. A U.S. Senator from New York, Mitchill was a professor of chemistry and natural history and was also responsible for establishing the first medical journal in the US.

That same year, an upstate farmer unearthed the jaw of a mammoth on his property—a spectacular first at a time when fossils were rarely encountered. He contacted Mitchill, who organized an expedition under Lyceum auspices to investigate further.

1824

From the Lyceum’s earliest years, members could keep abreast of science around the world through it sever-expanding library. In 1824 the Lyceum launched its journal, Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York. By exchanging Annals for the publications of scientific organizations worldwide, the Lyceum built its collections. Known today as Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, it is one of the oldest continuously published science journals in the United States.

1829

From the very beginning the Lyceum welcomed many renowned Members, including Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States.

1836

Commissioned by New York State, Lyceum members Lewis Beck, John Torrey and James DeKay led this landmark assessment of the state of New York’s natural resources, including minerals and forests, its flora and fauna. Also this year, Botanist Asa Gray became curator and librarian of the Lyceum; later, as a Harvard professor, Gray was one of Darwin’s lead supporters in the US.

1840

Chemist, physician, photographer, and Lyceum member John W. Draper presented the first photograph, an early daguerreotype, showing details for the moon’s surface at a Lyceum meeting on March 23.

A 19th century shot of Lower Manhattan in New York City

Illustrations of various reptiles and amphibians.

1850-1900

An illustration of the NYU Medical School building.

From 1850-1900, Academy membership grows with some of the greatest names in science, welcoming in a new century of discovery.

One of the earliest photographs of the moon.

A ticket for a public lecture from 1893.

1859

Renowned geographer, naturalist, explorer and philosopher Alexander von Humboldt was among the early Members of the Academy.

1865

In 1865, Academy Member Lewis M. Rutherfurd, who invented the first telescope designed for astrophotography, published one of the first high quality images of the moon.

1866

On the night of May 21, 1866, fire broke out in the building next door to the Lyceum headquarters on 14^th Street. It soon engulfed the entire block, destroying the Lyceum’s library, as well as its collection—including John James Audubon’s Birds, John Draper’s chemistry apparatus, and an unrivaled mineralogical cabinet—dashing hopes of establishing a natural history museum and leading the Lyceum to move to Mott Memorial Hall at 64 Madison Avenue. The Lyceum persevered, turning this catastrophe into an opportunity to adapt to the changing landscape of science.

1868

Members of the Academy played key roles in founding a number of important institutions across the city of New York, including the American Museum of Natural History.

1876

In the late 1800s science was becoming more specialized. Professional societies began to form, and natural history no longer represented a unified body of knowledge. In order to reflect the larger scope of scientific disciplines represented in the organization, such as Chemistry, Engineering, and Technology, the Lyceum changed its name to The New York Academy of Sciences on January 5, 1876, and created specialist sections under the Academy’s umbrella.

1877

In keeping with its egalitarian principles, the Lyceum voted to begin inviting women to attend its meetings and to become members. Geologist and anthropologist Erminnie A. Smith became the first woman elected to Academy membership.

1887

Academy members also played important roles in national organizations, coordinating the first New York meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, an event that gave the local scientific community visibility on the national stage. At the AAAS meeting, Albert A. Michaelson and Edward W. Morley made public their experiment disproving the existence of an “ether” through which light was through to travel in the form of waves. This shocked the audience—and paved the way for Albert Einstein’s theory of special relativity.

1891

The Academy created the Scientific Alliance, an organization that united New York’s scientific clubs and societies—and began publishing the Bulletin to announce meetings and foster collaboration among member groups. Through these efforts, the Academy emerged as a leader.

1892

Scientist, inventor, engineer and Academy member Alexander Graham Bell opened long-distance telephone service from New York to Chicago in 1892.

1894

The Academy launched a series of annual exhibitions showcasing the research of its members and of other institutions in New York City.

1900-1950

The turn of the century brought in a new president to the Academy, along with new conferences and initiatives.

An illustration of the American Museum of Natural History.

1906

Nathaniel Britton was elected president of the Academy in 1906. Britton had been instrumental in founding the New York Botanical Garden, chartered in 1891, and had served as its first director. This year, the Academy moved into rooms at the American Museum of Natural History, where it maintained its offices until 1950. Academy members were among the Museum’s founders.

1913

Britton launched the Academy’s ambitious survey of Puerto Rico—the first of its kind—by marshaling the expertise of members in diverse disciplines: geology, meteorology, oceanography, archaeology, anthropology, botany and zoology. Though it began as a small-scale botanical and entomological exploration, it grew into a multi-year project, publishing 19 volumes and earning the Academy a reputation for scientific excellence.

1916

Serbian-American physicist and Columbia professor Michael Pupin was elected Academy president.

1935

Eunice Miner, a research assistant at the American Museum of Natural History, joined the Academy with just over 300 members. Miner became the Academy’s Executive Director in 1939 and through legendary energy and ambition, expanded membership to more than 20,000 by 1967.

1938

Two pioneering conferences—one on electrophoresis in 1938, the other on the internal composition of stars in 1939—established the Academy conferences in the eyes of the international scientific community.

1942

The Academy published the book Balinese Character: A Photographic Analysis, by Gregory Bateson & Margaret Mead. Both Academy Members, Bateson and Mead compiled over 700 photographs depicting their cultural studies in Bali. Read the book here.

1946

In January of 1946, the Academy held the first-ever large scientific conference on antibiotics, only two years after the discovery of streptomycin. Proceedings from this groundbreaking conference were published in the September 1946 volume of Annals.

1948

The Academy launched the first Science and Technology Exposition, New York City’s science fair.

A diagram of various seashell varieties.

A black and white photo of a Balinese woman dancing.

An advert for a 1946 antibiotics conference sponsored by the Academy.

1950-2000

The Academy spent the entire latter half of the 20th century in its newly acquired Woolworth Mansion building, the longest period to date that the Academy remained in a single location, which helped to provide stability and promote advancement.

An illustrated primate graces the cover of "The Sciences" magazine.

Participants interacting during a 1993 science and technology conference.

1950

After hearing a talk by Eunice Miner in the late 1940s on the Academy’s need for a home, Norman Woolworth donated the Woolworth Mansion on East 63^rd Street. This became the Academy’s headquarters for the next 50+ years.

1961

The Academy launched The Sciences, seven-time National Magazine-award-winning science publication for an audience of both experts and lay readers; publication continued until 2001.

1964

Leaders of the Academy had long been aware that advances in health and living could only be secured by developing a new generation of scientists and science-savvy adults. The launch of the Junior Academy fostered the next generation of scientist-researchers, including George Yancopoulos, co-founder of cutting-edge biotech company Regeneron.

1966

Leading anthropologist Margaret Mead became a Vice President of the Academy in the 1960s.

1970s

The first African-American woman to receive a PhD in Chemistry in the U.S., Marie Maynard Daly had a distinguished career in biochemistry and was an Academy Member, as well as a Member of the Academy’s Board of Governors.

1978

Charlotte Friend, renowned for establishing that cancer could be caused by a virus, became the Academy’s first female president.

1979

The Science in Research Training Program was established, giving high school students an opportunity to do research in real laboratory settings. The Academy also established the Albert Einstein public lecture series, given by notable scientists including Sydney Brenner, Freeman Dyson, Susumu Tonegawa and Steven Weinberg.

1983

When many were still fearful of addressing the AIDS crisis, the Academy took the lead and hosted the first major scientific conference on AIDS in December of 1983. Conference proceedings were published in a December 1984 volume of Annals.

1987

The Academy published a fifth volume of reports from the Moscow Refusnik Seminar, papers by persecuted scientists from the Soviet Union and by concerned colleagues.

1988

Physicist Andrei Sakharov and Chinese dissident Fang Lizhi credited the Academy for the coordination of international pressure around the human rights of scientists that resulted in their release. Both made the Academy their first stop during U.S. visits.

1993

Throughout the 1980s and 90s, the Academy held science fairs for high school students, continuing a long tradition begun in the 1940s.

1997

With increasing focus on public health and policy, the Academy convened a landmark conference on the effects of cocaine on the developing brain.

2000-2020

Moving into the 21st century, the Academy returned to its roots in lower Manhattan and celebrated its bicentennial, marking two centuries of advancing science for the public good.

An illustration of the 7 World Trade Center building.

2005

Ellis Rubinstein became Academy President and CEO.

2006

The Academy moved downtown as the first tenant of the new World Trade Center at 7 WTC, 250 Greenwich Street—four blocks from its birthplace on Barclay Street.

2007

In November of 2007 the first-ever Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists were announced at the Academy’s annual gala. The Blavatnik Awards were created to honor exceptional young scientists and engineers by celebrating their achievements, recognizing their future potential, and providing them with unrestricted funding.

2008

The Harbor Project achieved consensus among 70 stakeholder organizations on the industrial sources of contaminants in New York Harbor and ways to protect the watershed.

2010

In February of 2010, the Academy published one of its most downloaded volumes of Annals, “The Biology of Disadvantage: Socioeconomic Status and Health.”

2012

The Academy convened a panel discussion to debate perceived censorship of highly controversial studies with the avian influenza virus H5N1.

2014

On September 22, 2014, the Academy announced the Global STEM Alliance before a packed audience at the United Nations. The programs aimed to improve the STEM pipeline with a focus on mentoring and inspiring students and scientists at all stages. The GSA has evolved into Academy Learning [ck], which continues to be dedicated to STEM education for K-12 students and serves to keep the scientific career pipeline filled with promising young minds.

2017

The Academy turned 200 years old, celebrating two centuries of bringing together extraordinary people to drive solutions to society’s challenges by advancing scientific research, education, and policy.

2020

On March 12, 2020, the Academy held a webinar “What You Need to Know About the New Coronavirus.” Attendance exceeded 5,000 participants. The Academy continued to provide important, unbiased scientific information on the spread of SARSCoV-2, and the development of therapeutics and vaccines against the coronavirus, convening nearly 25 events in the first months of the pandemic. In so doing, the Academy built on a proud tradition of bringing together diverse, international stakeholders to address global issues as was done with antibiotics in 1946, AIDS in 1983, SARS in 2003, and H1N1 (swine flu) in 2009.

A man wearing a suit and tie poses for the camera.

A group of award winners pose for the camera.

H5N1 avian influenza virus particles, coloured transmission electron micrograph (TEM). Each virus particle consists of ribonucleic acid (RNA), surrounded by a nucleocapsid and a lipid envelope (green). The natural hosts of this virus are wild birds, which show few symptoms. However, infected domestic birds suffer a 90-100% mortality rate. Humans that have contact with infected birds can become infected. The first such infection was identified in South-East Asia in 1997, and the virus has steadily spread across the world, with an outbreak in a poultry farm in the UK in 2007. There are fears that the virus may mutate into a human-transmissible form, which could lead to millions of deaths worldwide. Magnification: x670,000 when printed 10cm wide.

2020-present

An exterior shot of the U.S. Realty Building.

As the world was grappling with the COVID pandemic, the Academy introduced Nicholas B. Dirks as its next president, at a time when advancing science for the public good was crucial.

2020

In June 2020, Nicholas B. Dirks took the helm as President and CEO of The New York Academy of Sciences.

2022

The Academy introduced the International Science Reserve (ISR), a global network of scientific experts committed to collaborating across borders to accelerate solutions to help mitigate global crises that may arise from another pandemic, a cyberattack, or disasters associated with climate change. In its first year, more than 2000 scientists from 100 countries joined the ISR community.

2023

From May 23-24, the Academy presented another groundbreaking first—the first convening of experts to address “The New Wave of AI in Healthcare.” This was just the first of many upcoming Academy endeavors, including a multi-year AI fellows-in-residence program, that aims to examine the potential applications of AI in various sectors for the public good.

Then, on September 14, the Academy christened its newest home by welcoming the Academy community to 115 Broadway to hear stimulating discussions about the future of science and to engage in hands-on science activities. The spirit of discovery of Charles Darwin—an early Member of the Academy—is very much alive to this day. A sculpture commissioned by our Members welcomes staff and guests alike in the lobby of our latest headquarters.

Laying the Scientific Foundation in New York City

Described by his contemporaries as a “chaos of knowledge,” a “living encyclopedia,” and a “stalking library,” first Academy President Samuel L. Mitchill dabbled in a variety of disciplines, building a unique level of scientific proficiency that was very rare at the time.

By Douglas Braaten, PhD

Samuel Latham Mitchill was a rare polymath for his time.

Born in North Hempstead, New York, in 1764, he had remarkably varied interests, which ranged from medicine to geology, botany and mineralogy. A farmer’s son, Mitchill exhibited great interest in the natural sciences early in life. After studying the foundations of medicine with his uncle, doctor Samuel Latham, Mitchill went to the University of Edinburgh to earn his medical degree in 1786 and then returned to New York, where he received a license to practice medicine. The route he chose, however, was far from a typical doctor’s path.

Because of his boundless thirst for knowledge, Mitchill couldn’t fully settle on pursuing any one scientific field. His contemporaries described him as a “chaos of knowledge,” a “living encyclopedia,” and a “stalking library.”

He kept dabbling in a variety of disciplines, building a unique level of scientific proficiency, which was very rare at the time. It wasn’t surprising that his wide array of interests and expertise earned him an appointment as a Chair of Natural History at Columbia University, at the age of 28. At Columbia, Mitchill’s scientific career truly flourished. He taught chemistry and botany, and expanded his work into other areas of science.

Promoting Geology, Agriculture, Chemistry

Mitchill was a prolific publisher and produced a variety of works, once again on a wide variety of topics. He prompted the geological survey of the New York State. He contributed to the development of agriculture by surveying the mineralogy of the Hudson River Valley. His chemistry studies led to improved detergents and disinfectants, and even better gunpowder. For 23 years, Mitchill served as a chief editor of the Medical Repository, one of the top scientific publications of the time.

It would only make sense then, that an erudite man like Mitchill would lay the foundation for the New York Academy of Sciences. In 1817, he organized the first meeting of the Lyceum of Natural History (the Academy’s early name), which took place at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Lower Manhattan. Later elected as the Lyceum’s first President, Mitchill remained in that post until 1823.

Under his supervision, the Lyceum hosted lectures, preserved samples of natural artifacts, and established a library. Seven years after the Lyceum’s commencement, it began publishing The Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York — one of the first American journals of natural history and science. The Annals published articles on myriad topics, from research on swallows by its Member John James Audubon, to descriptions of newly found species.

As the years progressed, the organization started by Mitchill continued to grow, adding more activities to its list. New York State commissioned the Lyceum to do a survey of its mineralogy, botany, and zoology. The Lyceum also became instrumental in launching organizations dedicated to scientific research and literacy, including New York University in 1831, and the Museum of Natural History in 1868.

Science and Politics

Like many other great scholars who sought to educate societies about science, Mitchill worked to emphasize the importance of scientific progress in the American legislature and politics. In 1801, he resigned his Columbia appointment and took a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Later, he served a term in the Senate, and then once again in the House. He was an advocate of quarantine laws, and an avid proponent of the Library of Congress.

Mitchill was also instrumental in the creation of educational institutions including Rutgers Medical College, where he served as Vice President during the college’s first four years. Despite being preoccupied with his political efforts and other endeavors, Mitchill never stopped working on his scientific pursuits, and remained very productive in his research publications throughout his life.

As historian Alan Aberbach once wrote, “To Mitchill it was axiomatic that with diligence and empirical practices, developing systematically and organically, one could come to grips with and resolve the historical plagues of mankind’s ills.”

The New York Academy of Sciences – A Concise History

An illustration of the Academy's original home in 1817.

By Douglas Braaten, PhD

Founded in 1817 as the “Lyceum of Natural History in the City of New York,” by a small group of science enthusiasts, led by Samuel Latham Mitchill, a polymath and prominent politician who represented New York in the U.S. Congress, determined to create an organization that anyone interested in natural science could join in order to learn from experts, and that provided a venue for public consumption of scientific ideas and advances of the time.

For the next 100 years, the trials and tribulations of the Academy were in many respects the trials and tribulations of progress of science in New York and other states of the new American republic. In March 1817, James Monroe became the fifth American president. That same year he was elected an honorary member of the Lyceum, along with the third American president, Thomas Jefferson.

The intentionally anti-patrician nature of the Lyceum not only distinguished it from other institutions of the day, it served as the basis for a new type of democratic institution that later was instrumental in the progress of science, especially in the New York City area, though this was also felt throughout New York State and beyond.

On the national scene, Philadelphia, originally owing to its centrality as the first American capital and birthplace of major figures in politics and science—e.g., Benjamin Franklin—was home to the first science societies in the nascent country, although with the exception of Franklin’s Academy of Natural History the societies were aristocratic and elitist. They were institutions largely, if not exclusively, for men of wealth who were not themselves scientists; nor probably even much interested in science. Membership was a symbol of status, indicating, among other things, that a person had the financial means to support these 19th century social clubs.

Even by name—Lyceum: an institution for popular education providing discussions, lectures, concerts, etc.—the first incarnation of the Academy was fundamentally different from other societies. Its raison d’être was not social climbing and show, but the dissemination of science, and bringing people who were keenly interested in science, together.

This fundamental democratic principle determined the course of the Academy’s history, and with it the development of key institutions of science and learning in New York City today, including Central Park, the American Museum of Natural History, the New York Botanical Garden and New York University. It was by inclusion of people on the basis of only their interest in science that the Academy could bring together so many different stakeholders—indeed so many key individuals at just the right moments—to influence, if not forge the development of many New York City institutions.

The founding meeting of the Academy, then the Lyceum, occurred on January 29, 1817. To tell the history of the Academy’s accomplishments since then is to tell the history of science in New York State and America, and beyond. It is the history of an institution, but more importantly of the tens of thousands of individuals who have been Academy Members since 1817, from around the globe and from many diverse institutions, cultures and walks of life.

Indeed the history of the Academy would not have been possible without the devotion, energy and creativity of its Members. This collective engagement—today we refer to this as the Academy’s network—has enabled and driven fundamental changes in the landscape of science and science-based institutions in New York City and throughout the world. This is history worth telling, and re-telling.

Two centuries later, on January 29 2017, the Academy unveiled a permanent 200th Anniversary Exhibition in the lobby of its headquarters at 7 World Trade Center in New York City (see photos below). The folded timeline insert in this issue of the magazine provides a concise history of key Academy events, members and accomplishments since 1817. A prominent feature of the physical exhibition is a 17-foot-long timeline with images and text that tells the story of some of the enormous challenges and successes over the Academy’s 200 years.

In addition, as part of the 200th anniversary celebration, the Academy is publishing a revised edition of a critically acclaimed history of the Academy and of science in New York City and the early United States, Knowledge, Culture, and Science in the Metropolis: The New York Academy of Sciences, 1817–2017 by historian and professor Simon Baatz (John Jay College).

Originally published as special issue of Annals (Ann NY Acad Sci 584: 1–269) in 1990, professor Baatz’s book provides an, “engrossing account of the role of the sciences within the great American metropolis”… “this masterly account of science in its social context will be of the greatest interest to everyone who cares about New York, about the growth of knowledge, and about the importance of voluntary associations in our national life.” The revised edition, published in January 2017, contains a new chapter on the Academy’s history from 1970 to 2017.

An even earlier account, A History of the New York Academy of Sciences, formerly the Lyceum of Natural History, published in 1887 by Herman Le Roy Fairchild, is also available in electronic form by contacting the Academy at annals@nyas.org. Fairchild’s account is a detailed discussion of many facets of the Lyceum’s early days, including biographical sketches of many of the important founders, lists of all of the first Lyceum officers and administrators, dates and addresses of locations of the Academy during its early peripatetic days, copies of the original constitution, by-laws and other legal documents.

Finally, a very brief history, “The Founding of the Lyceum of Nature History,” by historian Kenneth R. Nodyne, was published in 1970 (Ann NY Acad Sci 172: 141–149).

Some Prominent Members of the Academy

From its inception, the Academy has been a member-driven organization. And while it was a democratic organization that welcomed anyone, the Academy, for its first 100 years or so, proposed and voted on bestowing memberships.

As specified in the original constitution of 1817, admittance to the Lyceum was by three categories of membership. Resident members were from NYC and “its immediate vicinity” and thus could take part in Academy meetings, while Corresponding members, largely on account of travel times in the early 19th century—it took a day and a half to travel to Boston!—were less involved; Honorary members were selected on the basis of “attainment in Natural History,” no matter where they resided.

Categories of membership changed over the years. In the 1980s there were eight: Active, Life, Student, Junior, Institutional, Certificate, Honorary Life and Fellows. The total number of members had reached its highest, 48,000 from all 50 states and over 80 countries around the world. This membership apogee was in large part the result of two factors. One was the enormous influence of the Academy’s executive director from 1935 to 1965, Eunice Miner, whose zeal and “stubbornness” increased membership from 750 in 1938 to over 25,000 by 1967! The other influence was a membership policy in the 1980s of mailing out membership certificates to people worldwide.

Today’s Academy membership of 20,000 is composed of Professional, Student and Postdoctoral, Supporting and Patron, and—continuing a long tradition—Honorary Members. Over the course of our history there have been well over 200 Honorary Members, including 110 Nobel Laureates. Below are profiles of just a few of the Honorary Members.

Lord Kelvin (1824–1907)
Elected Honorary Member 1876

William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, a Scots-Irish mathematical physicist and engineer who did important work on electricity and thermodynamics. Absolute temperatures are stated in units of Kelvin in his honor.

Louis Pasteur (1822–1895)
Elected Honorary Member 1889

A French chemist and microbiologist known worldwide for his work on understanding vaccination, microbial fermentation, and pasteurization. He was director of the Pasteur Institute, established in 1887, until his death. He was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1853, promoted to Commander in 1868, to Grand Officer in 1878 and made a Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor—one of only 75 in all of France.

Niels Bohr (1885–1962)
Elected Honorary Member 1958

A Danish physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922 for making fundamental contributions to the studies of atomic structure and quantum theory. He spent much of his life and worked in Denmark, where he founded the Institute of Theoretical Physics at the University of Copenhagen.

Barbara McClintock (1902–1992)
Elected Honorary Member 1985

An American cytogeneticist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1983 for her discovery of genetic transposition. Her work concentrated on studies of maize, for which she developed techniques for visualizing the chromosomes; she produced the first genetic map for maize and demonstrated the important roles of telomeres and centromeres. McClintock spent her entire professional career in her own laboratory at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

Rosalyn S. Yalow (1921–2011)
Elected Honorary Member 2006

Born in New York City, Yalow was a medical physicist and co-winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the development of the radioimmunoassay (RIA), an in vitro technique used to measure concentrations of immune proteins called antigens. This revolutionary technique helped to marshal in the modern era of immunological research. Yalow also won the prestigious Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research (1976) and the National Medal of Science (1988).

Linking Heart Attacks and Cholesterol

Meet the first African-American woman to receive a PhD in Chemistry in the US.

The first African-American woman to receive a PhD in Chemistry in the US, Marie Maynard Daly, PhD, had a distinguished career in biochemistry and was an Academy Member, as well as a Member of the Academy’s Board of Governors in the 1970s.

Daly was born in 1921, in the Corona neighborhood of Queens in New York City, to a father who immigrated to the US from the West Indies and a mother born in Washington, DC. She went on to earn her doctorate from Columbia University and helped make important contributions to our understanding of the links between cholesterol and heart attacks.

Who was her biggest science inspiration?

While we can’t say for sure, many of the available biographies of Daly speak about the influence of her father, Ivan C. Daly, on her early decision to study chemistry.

Ivan attended Cornell University as a young man and hoped to complete a degree in chemistry there but had to leave school before finishing because of a lack of funds. As a young woman, both her father and mother, along with her maternal grandfather, encouraged Daly to pursue a career in the sciences.

It was on a visit to her grandparents’ house in Washington, DC, where she discovered Paul de Kruif’s 1926 book The Microbe Hunters, which is also said to have been an important inspiration to her. However, the clue that seems to reveal just how important her father was to her comes later in her life, when she established a scholarship fund in his name for African-American students studying science at her undergraduate alma mater, Queens College.

Did she have a science mentor?

During her doctoral studies at Columbia University, Daly’s doctoral advisor was Mary Letitia Caldwell, PhD. Caldwell was the first and only female senior faculty member at Columbia for a number of years and spent the bulk of her career working to isolate the enzyme amylase.

Caldwell is credited in a couple of the available biographies with encouraging Daly to focus on studying aspects of digestion, and the title of Daly’s dissertation reflects Caldwell’s intellectual influence: “A Study of the Products Formed by the Action of Pancreatic Amylase on Corn Starch.” We can only speculate about the other early influences that Caldwell might have provided Daly, both of whom are remembered for being important “first” women in their fields.

What was one of her biggest career accomplishments?

In the mid-1950s, Marie began working with Quentin B. Deming, MD, first at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, and later at Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University. The work they did together helped to lay important groundwork for our understanding of the relationship between heart attacks and cholesterol, along with other blockages in the arteries.

Click here and go to page 1340 to read the abstract for their paper, “Effect of Hypertension on Cholesterol Synthesis in Rats,” which they presented, along with three others, at the 1962 Annual Meeting of the American Society for Clinical Investigation.

Learn more about Daly

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