Lunar Society of Birmingham facts for kids
The Lunar Society of Birmingham was a special dinner club and informal group of smart people in the Midlands Enlightenment period in Britain. This group included important business owners, scientists, and thinkers. They met regularly in Birmingham between 1765 and 1813. At first, they called themselves the Lunar Circle, but by 1775, "Lunar Society" became their official name. They chose this name because they met during the full moon. The extra moonlight made it easier and safer for them to travel home since there were no streetlights back then. The members even jokingly called themselves "lunaticks" (an old spelling of lunatics). They met in different places like Erasmus Darwin's home in Lichfield, Matthew Boulton's home (Soho House), and other grand houses.
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Who Were the Lunar Society Members?
The Lunar Society changed over nearly fifty years, but it was always an informal group. This means they didn't have official rules, meeting notes, or membership lists. Because of this, historians sometimes disagree on exactly who was a member or when the society truly existed. We only know about their activities from letters and notes written by the people involved.
Despite some confusion, historians have identified fourteen people who regularly attended meetings during the society's most active times. These key members were: Matthew Boulton, Erasmus Darwin, Thomas Day, Richard Lovell Edgeworth, Samuel Galton, Jr., Robert Augustus Johnson, James Keir, Joseph Priestley, William Small, Jonathan Stokes, James Watt, Josiah Wedgwood, John Whitehurst, and William Withering.
While their meetings gave the society its name and social focus, a lot more happened outside of these gatherings. Members who lived close to Birmingham talked almost every day. Those who lived farther away wrote letters at least once a week. Many other important people also joined meetings sometimes or worked with the main members. These included famous figures like Benjamin Franklin and Joseph Banks.
Some historians say that the Lunar Society was very important because it connected smart people from all over Europe and America. Its friendly nature meant that anyone could be invited to their meetings.
How the Society Grew
Early Days: 1755–1765
The Lunar Society started with a few friendships in the late 1750s. Matthew Boulton and Erasmus Darwin met around 1757 or 1758. Darwin was a doctor and a poet who had studied at top universities. Boulton had left school at fourteen and started working in his father's metal business. Even though they had different backgrounds, they both loved experiments and inventions. Darwin had a strong understanding of theories, and Boulton had great practical skills. They often visited each other and studied science topics like electricity and weather.
Around the same time, John Whitehurst, a clockmaker from Derby, became friends with Boulton and then Darwin. Whitehurst supplied clock parts to Boulton's business. By 1758, Whitehurst was excitedly writing to Boulton about a new tool he had built to measure heat.
Boulton, Darwin, and Whitehurst were introduced to Benjamin Franklin in 1758. Franklin visited Birmingham to meet important people. He returned in 1760 to do experiments with Boulton on electricity and sound. Franklin remained a key connection for many early members.
The Lunar Circle: 1765–1775
The group changed a lot when William Small, a Scottish doctor, moved to Birmingham in 1765. Small had been a professor of science in Virginia and had taught Thomas Jefferson. He was a central figure for a group of thinkers there. When he arrived in Birmingham with a letter from Benjamin Franklin for Matthew Boulton, he energized the existing group. They began to see themselves as a formal group and started inviting new members.
One of the first new members was Josiah Wedgwood. He became a close friend of Darwin in 1765 while working to build the Trent and Mersey Canal. Wedgwood later designed his large new pottery factory to be like Boulton's Soho Manufactory. Another new member, Richard Lovell Edgeworth, met Darwin, Small, and Boulton in 1766 because they all shared an interest in designing carriages. He then introduced his friend Thomas Day. In 1767, James Keir visited Darwin and decided to move to Birmingham after meeting Boulton, Small, Wedgwood, and Whitehurst.
The Lunar Circle also attracted people from farther away. Joseph Priestley, a scientist living in Leeds, joined the group in 1767 when Darwin and Wedgwood became interested in his work on electricity. In the same year, James Watt visited Birmingham. He was shown around the Soho Manufactory by Small and Darwin. Even though Priestley and Watt didn't move to Birmingham for several years, they stayed in close contact with the group and were central to their activities from 1767.
By 1768, a core group of nine people had formed the heart of the Lunar Society, with William Small as a key figure. This group was sometimes called the "Lunar circle" by historians, though they used names like "Birmingham Philosophers" themselves.
The Lunar Society Becomes More Organized: 1775–1780
William Small's death in 1775 (likely from malaria) led to another change in the group. Small had been the main link between the members. Without him, the remaining members decided to make the group more organized. They agreed to meet on the Sunday closest to the full moon, from two in the afternoon until eight in the evening. The first such meeting was probably on December 31, 1775, and the name "Lunar" was first used in 1776.
During this time, new members joined. William Withering, a doctor like Small, moved to Birmingham in 1776 and became a member. He already knew Darwin, Boulton, and Wedgwood. John Whitehurst moved to London in 1775, but he stayed in touch and attended meetings occasionally.
Matthew Boulton seemed to be the main person behind making the society more organized. His home, Soho House, was the main place for meetings. In 1776, he planned to suggest "new Laws, and regulations" to keep the society going. However, this reliance on Boulton also caused problems. He was often away because he was busy building his steam engine business. Even though the 1770s was a very productive time for the society's joint projects, the meetings became less frequent by the end of the decade.
The Society's Best Years: 1780–1789
In late 1780, the society changed again when Joseph Priestley moved to Birmingham. Priestley had been involved with the group for over ten years and strongly believed in the benefits of scientific societies. Soon after he arrived, Lunar meetings moved from Sunday afternoons to Mondays to fit Priestley's duties as a clergyman. Also, meetings started happening at other members' homes, not just Soho House, which made the society less dependent on Matthew Boulton. This period became the society's most productive time.
Several other important people joined the society during these years. Samuel Galton, Jr., a Quaker who also made guns, started attending meetings from July 1781. His daughter, Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck, later wrote one of the few personal accounts of the Lunar Society's activities. The botanist and doctor Jonathan Stokes began attending meetings from 1783. He worked with William Withering on a book about British plants, but they later had a big argument, and Stokes stopped working with the main Lunar members by 1788.
The society also lost some key members during this time. Richard Lovell Edgeworth stopped attending regularly when he moved back to Ireland in 1782. John Whitehurst died in London in 1788, and Thomas Day died the next year. Most notably, Erasmus Darwin moved to Derby in 1781. Even though he felt "cut off from the milk of science," he continued to attend Lunar Society meetings until at least 1788.
Decline of the Society: 1789–1813
The start of the French Revolution in 1789 created political tensions among the society's members. But it was the Priestley riots in Birmingham in 1791 that truly caused the society to decline. Joseph Priestley himself was forced to leave the town and moved to the United States in 1794. Rioters attacked William Withering's house, and Matthew Boulton and James Watt had to arm their workers to protect the Soho Manufactory.
Younger generations of the Lunar members' families continued the meetings, including Gregory Watt, Matthew Robinson Boulton, Thomas Wedgwood, and James Watt junior. Meetings were still recorded into the 1800s. For example, there were eight meetings in 1800 and at least one in 1802. As late as 1809, someone described "the remnant of the Lunar Society" as "very interesting." While individual members still did important work, the strong teamwork that marked the society's best years was largely gone.
The society definitely ended by 1813. In August of that year, Samuel Galton, Jr. won a vote to take possession of the scientific books from the society's library.
Modern Lunar Societies
There are many memorials to the original Lunar Society and its members. These include the Lunar Society Moonstones, statues of Watt, and a statue of Boulton, Watt and Murdoch by William Bloye. The museum at Soho House in Birmingham also honors them.
A new Lunar Society was started in Birmingham by a group led by Dame Rachel Waterhouse. Its goal was to help develop the city and the surrounding area. This society was still active in 2024.
Outside Birmingham In Australia, The Lunaticks Society of Newcastle was formed by digital business owners, software developers, educators, and artists. Their aim is to encourage creative thinking and new ideas in the digital age.
University of Birmingham Lunar Society
In the late 1900s, the University of Birmingham Lunar Society met every Thursday to discuss many different topics. In 2011, efforts began to restart this discussion group as an alternative to more formal debate options at the university. This was approved in 2012. The society now holds discussions every two weeks. Any member can suggest a topic. These meetings happen in various places, from university rooms to local bars. In 2013, the society tried to rename one of the university rooms "The Lunar Room" to honor the original Birmingham Lunar Society. Like the Oxford Union, this society has always strongly supported freedom of speech. In 2019, the society changed its name to the Devil's Advocate Society but kept the original goals of the Lunar Society.
Today, this society is an informal academic group open to students and professors from the University of Birmingham.
Archives
Historical materials about the Lunar Society are kept in several collections. The University of Birmingham's Cadbury Research Library has portraits of the original Lunar Society members. The Library of Birmingham has a large collection of Joseph Priestley's writings. Both archives also hold various letters from society members.
See also
In Spanish: Sociedad Lunar para niños
