BENJAMIN FRANKLIN OVERSEES THE INDUCTION OF
SIR WILLIAM HERSCHEL, THE MOST NOTED ASTRONOMER OF HIS ERA AND THE DISCOVERER OF THE PLANET URANUS, INTO THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY

FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN (1706-1790). Signer of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution; Inventor; Author; Statesman; Diplomat; Scientist; Printer; Philanthropist. Superb Partially Printed Document Signed, “B. Franklin.”, as PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. Philadelphia, January 20, 1786. One page, oblong folio. With ornate paper wafer wax seal of The American Philosophical Society affixed to bottom center of the document by thick dark blue silk ribbon.

Additionally this important document is countersigned by: WILLIAM WHITE [(1775-1824) Chaplain to the Continental Congress, Treasurer and President of the Board of Trustee for the University of the State of Pennsylvania], ROBERT PATTERSON [(1743-1824) Professor of Mathematics and of Natural Philosophy at the University of the State of Pennsylvania, Assisted with Lewis and Clark Expedition, Director of the U.S. Mint.], JOHN EWING [(1732-1802) Professor of Ethics and Natural Philosophy, Trustee, and Provost at the University of the State of Pennsylvania], JAMES HUTCHINSON [(1752-1793) Physician, Surgeon General of Pennsylvania, Professor of Chemistry at the University of the State of Pennsylvania], JOHN FOULKE [(1757-1796) Physician], SAMUEL VAUGHAN [(1720-1802) British Merchant, leader in the revival of the American Philosophical Society after the Revolutionary War, President of the APS], and one other secretary of the APS. The document reads:

“To all Perfons to whom These prefents shall come, GREETING. The American Philofophical Society held at Philadelphia for promoting useful Knowledge, desirous of advancing the Interest of the Society by afsociating to themselves Men of distinguished Eminence, and of conferring Marks of their Esteem upon Persons of literary Merit have Elected William Herchel Esq. of Bath in England F.R.S. a Member of the said Philosophical Society, herby granting unto him all the Rights of Fellowship with all the Liberties and Privileges thereunto belonging. In Testimony whereof the said Society have casued the Seal of their Corporation to be annexed to this Certificate, and the same to be attested by the Names of the proper Officers this Twentieth Day of January in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Eighty Six.”

The eldest of the Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin had a myriad of credits to his name. He is the only Founding Father who is a signatory of all three of the major documents of the founding of the United States: The Declaration of Independence, The Treaty of Paris and the United States Constitution. Franklin also has the distinction of being the oldest signer of both the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. As a political writer and activist, he played a major role in developing the idea and ideals of an American nation. As a diplomat during the American Revolution, he secured the French alliance that made the independence of the fledgling American nation possible. As a scientist he was a major figure in the history of physics for his discoveries and theories regarding electricity. As a patron of the arts and seeker of knowledge, he founded the United States’ first university, officially known as the University of Pennsylvania since 1779, and its first learned society, the American Philosophical Society in 1743. Although the Society lapsed into inactivity after only three years, it was revived in 1767, and, in 1769, merged with the American Society for Promoting Useful Knowledge. Adopting the name American Philosophical Society held at Philadelphia for Promoting Useful Knowledge, the new group elected Benjamin Franklin as its first president.

With a diverse list of members that included doctors, lawyers clergymen, merchants, and learned artisans and tradesmen, the American Philosophical Society actively pursued the diffusion of knowledge in “all philosophical Experiments that let Light into the Nature of Things, tend to increase the Power of Man over Matter, and multiply the Conveniences or Pleasures of Life.” Soon after its revival in 1767, the American Philosophical Society gained the approbation of the international scientific community when one of its members plotted the path of Venus. Other pioneers in the field of Astronomy soon joined the Society’s ranks, including Sir Frederick William Herschel. Officially elected to the American Philosophical Society of Philadelphia in 1785, the same year as the election of Thomas Paine and Joseph Priestley, the document attesting to Hershel’s election would remain unsigned for nearly a year until the then 80 year old Benjamin Franklin returned to Philadelphia from his final trip to Paris.

Herschel, was working as the organist at the Octagon Chapel and Directory of Public Concerts in Bath [England] when he first encountered James Ferguson’s book Astronomy in 1773. It inspired Herschel, who had long been interested in mathematics, and led him to abandon music and embark on a new career. In the years following his introduction to astronomy, Herschel became a skilled maker of telescopes, and soon created the most powerful telescope of his time. On March 13, 1781, less than a decade into his astronomical studies, Herschel’s life was forever changed when he discovered the planet Uranus. Awarded the Copley Medal and elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society for his discovery, Herschel suddenly could devote his full energy to the study of the stars. Over the course of his career, Herschel constructed over 400 telescopes, the most famous of which was a reflecting telescope with a forty foot focal length. On August 28, 1789, his first night using this massive new instrument, Herschel discovered a moon of Saturn, and within a month he had located a second. Later, he would publish a catalog of more than 2500 stellar objects that was used for generations. In addition to these impressive accomplishments, Herschel, using a prism, discovered the existence of infrared radiation in 1800, and holds the distinction of being the first person to realize that the solar system was moving through space.

This remarkable document is in wonderful condition, and bears the bold signature of America’s most famous scientist and Renaissance man, Benjamin Franklin. In addition the signatures of eight other leading members of the APS (many of whom also played key roles in the early years of the University of Pennsylvania), make this a stunning piece. It further documents the historic admission of Sir William Herschel, the most renowned astronomer of his time, into the burgeoning ranks of the American Philosophical Society. A truly outstanding piece of importance and association.