This paper attempts to suggest the changing organisation of scientific culture and scientific institutions in London in the approximate period 1790–1820. A preliminary survey of the varieties of science in the city is followed by a treatment of one instance of informal association, the Askesian Society of 1796–1807. The intention is to provide a significant amount of data in an extra-institutional manner, and to illustrate a possible relationship between scientific culture and scientific advance. It is hoped that the essay might (...) provide a starting-point for subsequent treatments of group science in urban contexts during this phase of England's history. (shrink)

Over the last forty years several historians have drawn attention to aspects of the activities of lecturers on natural philosophy in Britain in the eighteenth century. Hans and others looked at the part these lecturers played in the development of education, particularly adult education. Musson and Robinson considered the possible connection between the work of the lecturers and the growth of industry, and Inkster and others have explored the relationship between lecturers and the institutions set up to support science, especially (...) around 1800.4 More recently, Schaffer has pointed to the parallels between the performances of the lecturers on natural philosophy and other contemporary cultural activities. As a consequence of these studies we know much more about the work of the lecturers, its significance, and, to a lesser extent, their relationship to their audience. (shrink)

In his recent study of the Sandemanian religious beliefs of Michael Faraday , Geoffrey Cantor points out that relatively little is known of Faraday's early life. Yet Cantor, like many biographers and authors, believes that the early life of an individual is important and needs to be studied carefully to develop a full and rounded account of the subject. The problem with Faraday is that not much was noted down at the time since his father came from the artisan class, (...) being a Sandemanian blacksmith from north-west England who had moved to London in early 1791. When a person dies at a great age there is always a problem about finding out about their early life, views and friendships. This is especially difficult if their social background is particularly humble or if they do not write an autobiography. Furthermore those who knew them when they were young are either dead, or at an advanced age where their memory may have become faulty. This circumstance can lead to anecdotal stories, without much basis, becoming enshrined uncritically in the literature. The life of Faraday provides many examples of this. (shrink)