Noble Ambitions: The Founding of the Franklin Institute

Posted by Kershaw Burbank on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Noble Ambitions: The Founding of the Franklin Institute In the minds of its founders, the Franklin Institute was built on noble ambitions,” historian Bruce Sinclair has written. And born of a young man’s fury, it might be added. In 1823, twenty-two year old Samuel Vaughan Merrick was denied membership in a Philadelphia mechanics’ asso­ciation. A number of similar organizations had sprung up in the early part of the nine­teenth...
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The Moon Men of Agriculture

Posted by Lorett Treese on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on The Moon Men of Agriculture On November 7, 1849, a brief notice appeared in the Germantown Telegraph notifying Philadelphia gentle­men that a club for farmers was about to be organized. Individuals interested in becoming members were informed where and when they could attend this organizational meeting. This single paragraph in a small, local newspaper seems hardly worthy of note, except that this group, the Farmers’...
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