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The National Academy of Sciences: The First Hundred Years, 1863-1963 (1978)

Chapter: APPENDIX A Act of Incorporation: National Academy of Sciences

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Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX A Act of Incorporation: National Academy of Sciences." National Academy of Sciences. 1978. The National Academy of Sciences: The First Hundred Years, 1863-1963. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/579.
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Page 595
Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX A Act of Incorporation: National Academy of Sciences." National Academy of Sciences. 1978. The National Academy of Sciences: The First Hundred Years, 1863-1963. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/579.
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Page 596
Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX A Act of Incorporation: National Academy of Sciences." National Academy of Sciences. 1978. The National Academy of Sciences: The First Hundred Years, 1863-1963. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/579.
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Page 597

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Act of Incorporation: A National Academy of Sciences AN ACT To incorporate the National Academy of Sciences Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That Louis Agassiz, Massachusetts; l. H. Alexander, Maryland; S. Alexander, New Jersey; A. D. Bache, at large; F. B. Barnard, at large; I. G. Barnard, United States Army, Massachusetts; W. H. C. Bartlett, United States Military Academy, Missouri; U. A. Boyden,2 Massachusetts; Alexis Caswell, Rhode Island; William Chauvenet, Missouri; I. H. C. Coffin, United States Naval Academy, Maine; I. A. Dahlgren,2 United States Navy, Pennsylvania; I. D. Dana, Connecticut; Charles H. Davis, United States Navy, Massachusetts; George Englemann, Saint Louis, Missouri; l. F. Frazer, Pennsylvania; Wolcott Gibbs, New York; I. M. Giles,3 United States Navy, District of Columbia; A. A. Gould, Massachusetts; B. A. Gould, Massachusetts; Asa Gray, Massachusetts; A. Guyot, New jersey; James Hall, New York; Joseph Henry, at large; l. E. Hilgard, at large, Illinois; Edward Hitchcock, Massachusetts; J. S. Hubbard, United States ' The correct name of this charter member was F. A. P. Barnard. 2 Declined. 5 The correct name of this charter member was J. M. Gilliss. 595

596 / Appendix A Naval Observatory, Connecticut; A. A. Humphreys, United States Army, Pennsylvania; I. L. Le Conte, United States Army, Pennsylvania; I. Leidy, Pennsylvania; l. P. Lesley, Pennsylvania; M. F. Longstreth, Pennsylvania; D. H. Mahan, United States Military Academy, Virginia; l. S. Newberry, Ohio; H. A. Newton, Connecticut; Benjamin Peirce, Massachusetts; John Rodgers, United States Navy, Indiana; Fairman Rogers, Pennsylvania; R. E. Rogers, Pennsylvania; W. B. Rogers, Massachusetts; L. M. Rutherfurd, New York; Joseph Saxton, at large; Benjamin Silliman, Connecticut; Benjamin Silliman, junior, Connecticut; Theodore Strong, New Jersey; John Torrey, New York; }. G. Totten, United States Army, Connecticut; Joseph Winlock, United States Nautical Almanac, Kentucky; lefties Wyman, Massachusetts; I. D. Whitney, California; their associates and successors duly chosen, are hereby incorporated, constituted, and declared to be a body corporate, by the name of the National Academy of Sciences. SEC. O. And be it further enacted, That the National Academy of Sciences shall consist of not more than fifty ordinary members, and the said corpora- tion hereby constituted shall have power to make its own organization, including its constitution, bylaws, and rules and regulations; to fill all vacancies created by death, resignation, or otherwise; to provide for the election of foreign and domestic members, the division into classes, and all other matters needful or usual in such institution, and to report the same to Congress. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the National Academy of Sciences shall hold an annual meeting at such place in the United States as may be designated, and the Academy shall, whenever called upon by any depart- ment of the Government, investigate, examine, experiment, and report upon any subject of science or art, the actual expense of such investigations, examinations, experiments, and reports to be paM from appropriations which may be made for the purpose, but the Academy shall receive no compensation whatever for any services to the Government of the United States. Approved, March 3, ~863. ABRAHAM Lit NCOLN, President. A M E N D M E N T S GALUSHA A. Grow, Speaker of the House of Representatives. SOLOMON FOOTE, President of the Senate pro tempore. AN ACT To amend the act to incorporate the National Academy of Sciences Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the act to incorporate the National

Appendix ~ / 597 Academy of Sciences, approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty- three, be, and the same is hereby, so amended as to remove the limitation of the number of ordinary members of said Academy as provided in said act. Approved, July ~4, ~870. AN ACT To authorize the National Academy of Sciences to receive and hold trust funds for the promotion of science, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the National Academy of Sciences, incor- porated by the act of Congress approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, and its several supplements be, and the same is hereby, authorized and empowered to receive bequests and donations and hold the same in trust, to be applied by the said Academy in aid of scientific investigations and according to the will of the donors. Approved, June 20, ~ 884. AN ACT To amend the act authorizing the National Academy of Sciences to receive and hold trust funds for the promotion of science, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the act to authorize the National Academy of Sciences to receive and hold trust funds for the promotion of science, and for other purposes, approved June twentieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-four, be, and the same is hereby, amended to read as follows: "That the National Academy of Sciences, incorporated by the act of Con- gress approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, be, and the same is hereby, authorized and empowered to receive by devise, bequest, donation, or otherwise, either real or personal property, and to hold the same absolutely or in trust, and to invest, reinvest, and manage the same in accordance with the provisions of its constitution, and to apply said property and the income arising therefrom to the objects of its creation and according to the instructions of the donors: Provided, however, That the Congress may at any time limit the amount of real estate which may be acquired and the length of time the same may be held by said National Academy of Sciences." SEC. 9. That the right to alter, amend, or repeal this act is hereby expressly reserved. Approved, May 27, ~9~4.

Next: APPENDIX B Minutes of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences at the Meeting Held for Organization in the Chapel of the New York University on the 22nd, 23rd,and 24th days of April 1863 »
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Among the oldest and most enduring of American institutions are those that have been devoted to the encouragement of the arts and the sciences. During the nineteenth century, a great many scientific societies came and went, and a few in individual disciplines achieved permanence. But the century also witnessed the founding of three major organizations with broadly interdisciplinary interests: the Smithsonian Institution in 1846; the Association of American Geologists and Naturalists, which in 1848 became the American Association for the Promotion (later, Advancement) of Science; and the National Academy of Sciences in 1863.

The founding of the National Academy of Sciences represented a momentous event in the history of science in the United States. Its establishment in the midst of a great civil war was fortuitous, perhaps, and its early existence precarious; and in this it mirrored the state of science at that time. The antecedents of the new organization in American science were the national academies in Great Britain and on the Continent, whose membership included the principal men of science of the realm. The chartering of academies under the auspices of a sovereign lent the prestige and elements of support and permanence the scientists sought, and in return they made their scientific talents and counsel available to the state.

The National Academy of Sciences: The First Hundred Years, 1863-1963 describes the National Academies from inception through the beginning of the space age. The book describes the Academies' work through different periods in history, including the Postbellum years, World War I, the Great Depression, and World War II.

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