A World of Scientific Ideals
"The . . . design of the Royal Society was to improve the
knowledge of natural things, and all useful arts, manufactures,
mechanick practises, engynes and inventions by experiments--(not
meddling with divinity, metaphysics, moralls, politicks, grammar,
rhetorick, or logick.)"
-Statement by Robert Hooke, curator of the Royal
Society of London, 1663
"[The Royal Institution's purpose is] diffusing the
knowledge and facilitating the general introduction
of useful mechanical improvements."
-Excerpt of charter of Royal Institution of Great Britain, 1800
Smithson, along with many of his friends, was an active
member of several organizations dedicated to advancing
scientific research and using science to benefit society.
He and his friend Henry Cavendish, a noted chemist and
physicist, were fellows of the Royal Society of London
and charter members of the Royal Institution of Great
Smithson's close friend, French physicist and astronomer
Dominique François Arago, advocated using science
to improve everyday life. Influenced by the French
Revolution, he dedicated himself to social reform and
the education of the lower classes.
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