Lunar Society of Birmingham

• 1. Origins And Early Connections

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  Matthew Boulton and Erasmus Darwin met during 1757 or 1758, possibly through family connections as Boulton's mother's family were patients of Darwin. They shared a common interest in experiment and invention despite their different backgrounds. Boulton had left school at fourteen to work in his father's business making metal goods in Birmingham. Darwin was a physician and poet who had studied at Cambridge and Edinburgh. Soon they were visiting each other regularly and conducting investigations into scientific subjects such as electricity, meteorology and geology. Around the same time the Derby-based clockmaker John Whitehurst became a friend first of Boulton and subsequently of Darwin. By 1758 Whitehurst was writing to Boulton telling excitedly of a pyrometer he had built. He looked forward to visiting Birmingham to spend one day with them trying all necessary experiments. Boulton, Darwin and Whitehurst were introduced by Michell to Benjamin Franklin when he travelled to Birmingham in July 1758. Franklin returned in 1760 to conduct experiments with Boulton on electricity and sound.

• 2. Evolution Of The Lunar Circle

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  The nature of the group changed significantly with the move to Birmingham in 1765 of the Scottish physician William Small. He 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. His arrival with a letter of introduction from Benjamin Franklin had a galvanising effect on the existing circle. The first new recruit was Josiah Wedgwood who became a close friend of Darwin in 1765 while campaigning for the building of the Trent and Mersey Canal. Another new recruit Richard Lovell Edgeworth met Darwin, Small and Boulton in 1766 through a shared interest in carriage design. In 1767 James Keir visited Darwin in Lichfield where he was introduced to Boulton, Small, Wedgwood and Whitehurst. By 1768 the core group of nine individuals who would form the nucleus of the Lunar Society had come together with Small at their heart. The group used descriptions including Birmingham Philosophers or simply fellow-schemers.

• 3. Peak Productivity And Membership

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  In late 1780 the nature of the society changed again with the move to Birmingham of Joseph Priestley. Shortly after his arrival Lunar meetings moved from Sunday afternoons to Mondays to accommodate Priestley's duties as a clergyman. The result was to be the society's most productive era. Samuel Galton Jr., unusual as a Quaker who was also a gun-manufacturer, appears in letters attending meetings from July 1781. His daughter Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck provided one of the few first-hand accounts of the Lunar Society's activities. The botanist Jonathan Stokes started attending Lunar Society meetings from 1783. He collaborated with Withering on his Botanical Arrangement of British Plants before quarrelling bitterly and severing relations by 1788. Erasmus Darwin moved to Derby in 1781 but continued to attend meetings at least until 1788. Richard Lovell Edgeworth ceased regular involvement when he returned to Ireland in 1782. John Whitehurst died in London in 1788 and Thomas Day died the following year.

• 4. Political Strains And Decline

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  The outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789 caused political strains between members of the society. It was the Priestley riots of 1791 in Birmingham itself that saw a decisive falling off of the society's spirit. Joseph Priestley himself was driven from the town leaving England entirely for the United States in 1794. William Withering's house was invaded by rioters and Matthew Boulton and James Watt had to arm their employees to protect the Soho Manufactory. Lunar meetings were continued by the younger generation including Gregory Watt, Matthew Robinson Boulton, Thomas Wedgwood and James Watt junior. Regular meetings are recorded into the nineteenth century with eight in 1800 and five or six before August 1801. As late as 1809 Leonard Horner described the remnant of the Lunar Society as being very interesting. The collaborative activity that marked the heyday was noticeably absent though individual members continued to produce work of importance.

• 5. Historical Uncertainty And Legacy

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  No constitution minutes publications or membership lists survive from any period of the society. Evidence of its existence is found only in correspondence and notes of those associated with it. Historians disagree on what qualifies as membership who can be considered to have been members and even when the society existed. Josiah Wedgwood is described by some commentators as one of five principal members while others consider he cannot be recognized as a full member at all. Dates given for establishment range from sometime before 1760 to 1775. Some historians argue it ceased to exist by 1791 while others say it operated as late as 1813. Fourteen individuals have been identified as having verifiably attended meetings regularly over long periods during productive eras. This lack of defined membership has led some historians to criticise a Lunar Society legend leading people to confuse it with general growth of intellectual activities in eighteenth century Britain.

• 6. Modern Revivals And Memorials

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  Among memorials to the Society are the Moonstones two statues of Watt and a statue of Boulton Watt and Murdoch by William Bloye. A new Lunar Society was formed in Birmingham by a group led by Dame Rachel Waterhouse. Clive Stone was elected as Chair of the Lunar Society in July 2023. The society was still in operation in 2024. In Australia The Lunaticks Society of Newcastle was formed by digital entrepreneurs software developers educators film producers creatives and investors. The University of Birmingham Lunar Society met every Thursday to debate topics in the Guild bar until steps were taken to reform in 2011. In 2019 the society was rebranded as the Devil's Advocate Society retaining goals of the original. Today the society is an informal academic association open to students and professional academics from the University of Birmingham. Historical material related to the Lunar Society is held in multiple collections including the Cadbury Research Library and the Library of Birmingham.