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. The nature of the group was to change significantly with the move to Birmingham in 1765 of the Scottish physician William Small, who had been Professor of Natural Philosophy at The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. There he had taught and been a major influence over Thomas Jefferson, and had formed the focus of a local group of intellectuals. His arrival with a letter of introduction to Matthew Boulton from Benjamin Franklin was to have a galvanising effect on the existing circle, which began to explicitly identify itself as a group and actively started to attract new members. [29]

The Lunar Society evolved through various degrees of organisation over a period of up to fifty years, but was only ever an informal group. No constitution, minutes, publications or membership lists survive from any period, and evidence of its existence and activities is found only in the correspondence and notes of those associated with it. [1] Historians therefore disagree on what qualifies as membership of the Lunar Society, who can be considered to have been members, and even when the society can be said to have existed. [2] Josiah Wedgwood, for example, is described by some commentators as being one of five "principal members" of the society, [3] while others consider that he "cannot be recognized as [a] full member" at all. [4] Dates given for the establishment of the society range from "sometime before 1760" [5] to 1775. [6] Some historians argue that it had ceased to exist by 1791; [7] others that it was still operating as late as 1813. [6] Today’s Lunar Society includes leading practitioners from all walks of life in Birmingham and the wider region. Those that join are prepared to help shape the scientific, political and social agenda not just here in Birmingham and the West Midlands, but nationally and internationally. Lunar Society" redirects here. For society on the Moon, see Colonization of the Moon. For the society promoting colonization of the Moon, see Lunar Explorers Society. It comes as a jolt to see these dedicated capitalists as part of a revolutionary cabal. But capitalism was revolution in the late eighteenth century. When this group of writers, intellectuals, scientists, and industrialists consciously joined forces, it was precisely because they meant to shape a decent life for everyone.

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Watt became interested in steam power whilst working as an instrument maker at the University of Glasgow. He saw that engine designs wasted a great deal of energy by repeatedly cooling and reheating the cylinder. Watt introduced a design enhancement, the separate condenser, which avoided this waste of energy and improved the power, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of steam engines. Eventually he adapted his engine to produce rotary motion, greatly broadening its use beyond pumping water. It was only when he went into partnership with Matthew Boulton that Watt was able to make his invention commercially viable. Watt’s previous supporter was declared bankrupt and Matthew Boulton, who at this time owned the Soho Foundry works, acquired his patent rights. The Boulton Watt partnership lasted 25 years.

The Lunar Society bringing together brilliant minds happened because of a full moon. Those who joined together to become the ‘Lunar Circle’ or ‘Lunar Club’ as it was formerly known in 1775. Bronowski, J., The Ascent of Man. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1973, Chapter 8, The Drive for Power. The list goes on: the astronomer William Herschel, who discovered the planet Uranus. He was a also a famous organist. John Smeaton, designer of the Eddystone lighthouse and the most advanced engine designer before Watt. In the latter part of the 20th century, the University of Birmingham Lunar Society met every Thursday to debate and discuss all manner of topics in the Guild bar. In 2011, steps were undertaken to reform the discussion society as an alternative to the more regulated debate options available at the university. This was agreed by the University's Guild of Students in autumn 2012. The society now hosts symposiums every two weeks. Any member has always been welcome to suggest a topic for discussion. These meetings occur in a variety of environments from University rooms to local bars. In 2013 the society attempted to change the name of one of the rooms in the Guild of Students to 'The Lunar Room' in honour of the original Birmingham Lunar Society. Like the Oxford Union, the society has always traditionally put a huge emphasis on freedom of speech. The society has similar aims to The Speculative Society of Edinburgh University. [51] [ non-primary source needed] In 2019, the society was rebranded as the Devil's Advocate Society, and retained the goals of the Lunar Society whilst changing much of its branding.

The Lunar Society bringing together brilliant minds

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. Can you imagine being in a room with these makers of the Industrial Revolution who were genuinely asking how to improve their world? Historian Jacob Bronowski looks at the Lunar Society and says, 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. Ben Franklin had helped to set the pattern very early in the game. His life was centered both on revolution and on tying scientific knowledge to practical social change. And The American Philosophical Society started out as his study group. Jenny Uglow’s The Lunar Men is a vivid and swarming group portrait that brings to life the friendships, political passions, love affairs, and love of knowledge (and power) that drove these extraordinary men. It echoes the thud of pistons and the wheeze and snort of engines, and brings to life the tradesmen, artisans, and tycoons who shaped and fired the modern age. Like its illustrious 18th century predecessor, the Society provides a lively forum for its membership to influence change through stimulating ideas, broadening debate and catalysing action.

The present-day Lunar Society provides a dynamic forum for its membership to influence change through focusing and informing debate, linking social, economic, scientific and cultural thinking, and catalysing action on issues critical to the common good. In the 200-plus years since the original Society, Birmingham and the region have changed beyond recognition. It is now a lively, multicultural city, open to the world. Its industrial base has high technology, medicine and legal services as well as modern manufacturing. It is also notably a young city, with a high proportion of under-35s. Yet what is still the same is the need to adapt continuously, to connect across different agendas and perspectives, and the need to engage local energy and effort in making change succeed. We are at the forefront of this, contributing to an innovative agenda throughout this region and beyond. 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] James Watt (1736 – 1819), of Boulton and Watt, developed the world beating steam engines that provided the power for the new factories that were springing up across the country. The society also lost several major figures over the period: Richard Lovell Edgeworth ceased regular involvement in the society's activities when he returned to Ireland in 1782, [41] John Whitehurst died in London in 1788, [41] and Thomas Day died the following year. [41] Most significantly, Erasmus Darwin moved to Derby in 1781, but although he complained of being "cut off from the milk of science", he continued to attend Lunar Society meetings at least until 1788. [42] Decline 1789–1813 [ edit ] The Priestley riots of 1791 Today’s Lunar Society has several hundred members and includes leading practitioners from all walks of life in Birmingham and the wider region, people who are prepared to help shape the scientific, political and social agenda not just here in Birmingham and the West Midlands, but nationally and internationally.

Members of the Lunar Society.

Schofield, R. E., The Lunar Society at Birmingham: a social history of provincial science and industry in eighteenth-century England, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1963. The Lunar Society was at the heart of what has been termed the ‘Midlands Enlightenment’ in the heart of Britain in Birmingham. They themselves had an enlightened outlook, they came together not as a political group to discuss society and the merits or otherwise of courses of actions taken by respective governments. It is interesting to reflect upon how they viewed the aristocracy, these were men whose wealth fame and fortune had by and large been made by their own honest toil. They wanted to see the power of the landed gentry and indeed the church reduced. They wanted ordinary people to be given the opportunity to flourish as entrepreneurs. All of course probably reflecting their own positions.