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7Che
;NA7LIOJ~AL
ACADEMY of
SCIENCES
by REXMOND C. COCHRANE
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Title page photograph by David Blume
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Cochrane, Rexomond Canning, 1912-
The National Academy of Sciences
Includes bibliographical references.
1. National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D. C.
I. Title. II. Title: The first hundred years, 1863-1963.
Qll.N2862C6 506'.1'73 77-21605
ISBN 0-309-02518-4
Ava~lablefrom
Printing and Publishing Office
National Academy of Sciences
2101 Constitution Avenue
Washington, D.C. 20418
Printed in the United States of America
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Foreword
Among the oldest and most enduring of American institutions are
those that have been devoted to the encouragement of the arts and
the sciences. The eighteenth century saw the establishment of the
American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia in ~ 743 and the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences in Boston in ~80. 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
~846; the Association of American Geologists and Naturalists, which
in ~848 became the American Association for the Promotion (later,
Advancement) of Science; and the National Academy of Sciences in
863.
The desirability of producing a history of the first hundred years
of the National Academy was first discussed in a Council meeting in
~ 96 ~ and revived again in ~ 966, with the ultimate result that Rexmond
C. Cochrane was commissioned to prepare such a history. He would
be building upon Frederick True's history, written to commemorate
the Academy's Semicentennial in ~9~3.
v
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vie / Foreword
A word about the consolidation and reordering of the Academy's
records into systematic archives is essential to an understanding of the
circumstances under which the history was written. Having been
without a permanent home from its inception until it occupied its
present site in ~<~4, the Academy was t`,rcec! t`, `'perate with widely
scattered and incomplete records.
In ~9~6, with the establishment of the National Research Council, a
Central File for its records was organized. This file, together with the
accumulated records and documents of more than a half century of
Academy history, which had long been stored at the Smithsonian
Institution, was in ~4 brought to the new Academy building on
Constitution Avenue a week before its dedication.
By ~963 the volume of source materials for a hundred-year history
was awesome; but the records were stored in various areas in the
Academy building and, to some extent, not readily and uniformly
accessible.
The Academy's archives were established late in ~966. A small staff
was mobilized, and the work of collecting and organizing the records
of the Academy and the National Research Council began under the
direction of Jean R. St. Clair, Archivist, who since ~946 had been in
charge of the records of the executive office of the Research Council
and, later, of the Academy as well. The Centennial history and the
archives program were begun at the same time, so that in some
instances the records were organized and became available just in
time for the historian's next chapter.
The present volume therefore reflects, to some extent, the scope of
the material now in the archives. Because only a few of our Academy
members have the time and the opportunity to examine our archival
material in any detail, it was thought that a historical account, pre-
sented in narrative form, would make it possible for members and
other interested persons to become acquainted with some of the
milestones in the Academy's history, as well as with the individuals
who have contributed significantly to our institution since its incep-
tion more than a century ago.
The time and effort of a great many people have gone into the
preparation of a work of this scope and magnitude. On behalf of the
Academy, I wish to thank Mr. Cochrane, who prepared the manu-
script; Lee Anna Thick, who served as general editor; and Patricia W.
Wakefield, who not only performed much of the research but who
has had the longest service with the project and has contributed in
innumerable ways to its ultimate realization.
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Foreword I vii
The work of Jean St. Clair as Archivist has already been acknowl-
edged and thanks are due, also, to the Deputy Archivist, Paul K.
McClure, and Thomas E. Mirabile of the archives staff, whose inti-
mate knowledge of the Academy collections was a major factor in the
documentation of the history. Janice F. Goldblum, also of the archives
staff, was of great assistance in locating the unusual collection of
photographs that illustrates the book. Rita M. Bruin of the Executive
Office performed an indispensable task in typing and retyping some
twelve hundred pages of manuscript. James L. Olsen, Librarian of the
Academy, furnished the kind of guidance and assistance upon which
both historians and researchers depend so greatly.
At several stages in the preparation of the manuscript, chapters
were sent to the following distinguished members of the Academy,
who were asked to read them and comment in the light of relevance to
their fields of special interest: Roger Adams, Allen V. Astin, Robert F.
Bacher, Philip Bard, Detlev W. Bronk, Harrison Brown, Vannevar
Bush, Leonard Carmichael, James B. Conant, Lee A. DuBridge,
William A. Fowler, Philip Handler, Caryl P. Haskins, Sterling B.
Hendricks, Joel H. Hildebrand, Alexander Hollaender, George B.
Kistiakowsky, Robert F. Loeb, Alfred L. Loomis, Walsh McDermott,
Saunders Mac Lane, Marston Morse, W. Albert Noyes, fir., I. 1. Rabi,
Roger Revelle, William I Robbins, William W. Rubey, Carl F.
Schmidt, Frederick Seitz, Charles Donald Shane (and Mrs. Shane),
Harlow Shapley, Julius A. Stratton, Merle A. Tuve, Harold C. Urey,
Alexander Wetmore, Benjamin H. Willier, and Abel Wolman.
Other highly qualified scholars and staff members who were con-
sulted include: Harold l. Coolidge, George B. Darling, Charles C.
Dunham, L. R. Hafstad, Frederick L. Hovde, Hugh Odishaw, Irvin
Stewart, and Carroll Wilson.
To all of these who took the time and trouble to offer their detailed
counsel and suggestions, critical and otherwise, we are most grateful.
To the extent possible, these contributions are reflected in the present
text.
FREDERICK SEITZ
Past President
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Contents
1 THE ACADEMY S ANTECEDENTS
SCIENTISTS AND SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZATIONS IN MID-
CENTURY AMERICA
THE INCORPORATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE ACADEMY
THE GOVERNMENT CALLS UPON THE ACADEMY
Alexander Dallas Bache (1863- 1867), 79
5 POSTBELLUM YEARS AND THE CRISIS WITHIN THE ACADEMY
Joseph Henry (1868- 1878), 1 oo
6 THE END OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
William Barton Rogers (1879-1882), 134
Othniel Charles Marsh (1883-1895),139
Wolcott Gibbs (1895- 1 goo), 157
THE ACADEMY MARKS ITS SEMICENTENNIAL
Alexander Agassiz ( l go 1 - 1907), 165
Ira Remsen (1907-1913),179
1X
1
16
43
79
100
34
65
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X / Contents
8 WORLD WAR I AND THE CREATION OF THE NATIONAL
RESEARCH COUNCIL
William Henry Welch (1913- 1917), 200
Charles Doolittle Walcott (1917- 1923), 218
THE RESEARCH COUNCIL S PERMANENT STATUS AND
THE ACADEMY S NEW HOME
10 THE TWENTIES: NEW HORIZONS IN SCIENCE
Albert Abraham Michelson (1923-1927),281
Thomas Hunt Morgan (1927-1931),3oo
11 THE ACADEMY DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION
William Wallace Campbell (1931 - 1935), 317
12 THE NEW DEAL AND THE SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD
Frank Rattray Lillie (1935- 1939), 369
13 THE ACADEMY IN WORLD WAR II
Frank Baldwin Jewett (1939- 1947), 382
14 THE POSTWAR ORGANIZATION OF SCIENCE
15 THE YEARS BETWEEN THE WARS
Alfred] Newton Richards (1947-1950),475
6 THE ACADEMY IN THE FIFTIES—BEGINNINGS OF THE
SPACE AGE
Detlev Wulf Bronk (1950- 1962), 517
17 ACADEMY CENTENNIAL
Frederick Seitz (1962- 1969), 565
APPEN D IXES
A Act of Incorporation: National Academy of Sciences
B Minutes of the Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences at the Meeting Held for Organization, April ~ 863
C Constitution and By-Laws of the National Academy of
Sciences, Adopted January ~864
D Members and Foreign Associates of the National Academy
of Sciences, ~ 863- ~ 963, and Year of Election
200
242
28~
3~7
347
382
433
475
5~7
565
595
598
606
614
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Contents / Xi
E Officers and Members of the Council of the National
Academy of Sciences, 1863-1963
F Executive Orders Defining the Duties and Functions of
the National Research Council
G Chairmen of the National Research Council
H Executive Secretaries and Executive Officers of the
National Academy of Sciences and the National
Research Council
I Executive Orders Relating to the Science Advisory Board
NAME INDEX
SUBJECT INDEX
634
644
648
650
652
657
671
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Illustrations
The Smithsonian Institution cat ~ 860, 20
Louis Agassiz lecturing at Penikese, 37
Civil War review on Pennsylvania Avenue, 48
The city of Washington in ~869, 49
Senator Henry Wilson of Massachusetts, so
The original Act of Incorporation of the National Academy
of Sciences, 54
Letter from Louis Agassiz to Alexander D. Bache,
March 6, ~ 863, 57
The founders of the Academy portrayed with President Abraham
Lincoln in painting by Albert Herter, 59
Two newspaper accounts of the first meeting of the Academy, 70
The membership diploma of the Academy, 72
Alexander Dallas Bache, President of the Academy, ~863-~867, 80
Letter from Secretary of the Treasury Chase requesting a com-
mittee on weights, measures, and coins, 82
Joseph Henry, President of the Academy, ~ 868- ~ 878, ~ 0 ~
The steamer Polaris at the Washington Navy Yard in ~ 87 I, ~ ~ 2
· —
X11
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Contents I xiii
Joseph Henry presiding over meeting of the Academy in the spring
of ~874 at the Smithsonian Institution, ~23
Ferdinand V. Hayden conducting U.S. Geological and Geographical
Survey, ~29
William Barton Rogers, President of the Academy, ~879-~882, ~35
Othniel Charles Marsh, President of the Academy, ~ 883-~ 895,
Wolcott Gibbs, President of the Academy, ~8gs-~goo, ~58
Alexander Agassiz, President of the Academy, ~ go ~ - ~ 907, ~ 66
Ira Remsen, President of the Academy, ~ 907- ~ 9 ~ 3, ~ 80
Edwin Bidwell Wilson, Managing Editor of the Academy's
Proceedings for fifty years, ~98
William Henry Welch, President of the Academy, ~ 9 ~ 3- ~ 9 ~ 7, 20
Laborers excavating a ditch through Cucaracha slide, Panama
Canal, 205
George Ellery Hale, Chairman of the National Research Council
~9~6-~9~9, 2~0
George E. Hale, Arthur A. Noyes, and Robert A. Millikan,2 ~ 6
Charles Doolittle Walcott, President of the Academy,
97-93, 2~9
Robert A. Millikan and members of the NRC staff during
World War I, 224
Eighteen-foot horns for locating invisible aircraft, 230
John Campbell Merriam, Chairman of the National Research
Council, ~ 9 ~ 8- ~ 9 ~ 9, and Chairman of the National Research
Council Executive Board, ~ 92 ~ - ~ 923, 247
James Roland Angell, Chairman of the National Research Council
i9~9-~920, 25~
Henry Andrews Bumstead, Chairman of the National Research
Council, July-December, ~920, ~53
Vernon Lyman Kellogg, Permanent Secretary of the National
Research Council, ~ 920- ~ 93 I, 254
National Research Council staff in ~923, 270
Cornerstone ceremonies for the Academy building, 273
The Academy building under construction, 274
1,
The completed Academy building, 275
Albert A. Michelson, Charles D. Walcott, Vernon L. Kellogg,
President Coolidge, John C. Merriam, Bishop James E. Freeman,
and Gano Dunn at the dedication of the Academy building, 278
The Great Hall of the Academy, 279
Albert Abraham Michelson, President of the Academy,
~923-~927, 282
Albert A. Michelson, Albert Einstein, and Robert A. Millikan, 283
