1888, ] NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 195 
views with each other on topics relating to literature, science, 
and arts, each contributing his quota of entertainment and in- 
struction. 
Each member was allowed to bring with him a friend, and 
thus many distinguished guests were present at these philoso- 
phical banquets. The society occasionally held ‘‘ meetings ex- 
traordinary,” in honor of scientific magnates from abroad. 
Among the members of the Lunar Society were the following 
eminent men of science. 
Matthew Boulton, F.R.S. (1728-1809), mechanical engineer 
and inventor of improvements in the steam-engine. A partner 
of James Watt. 
Dr. Erasmus Darwin, F.R.S. (1731-1802), physician, poet, 
and naturalist. Author of ‘* The Botanic Garden.” 
Dr. William Small (1734-1775), an intimate friend of Dar- 
win, Boulton, and Watt. He was an accomplished physician, 
chemist, and mechanist. He held the professorship of mathe- 
matics and natural philosophy in William and Mary College, 
Virginia, for some years, but returned to England and settled 
in Birmingham. : 
Thomas Day (1748-1789), a wealthy, eccentric philanthropist, 
best known asthe author of ‘‘Sandford and Merton.” A friend 
of Capt. Keir. 
Richard Lovell Edgworth, F.R.S. (1744-1817), author and 
philosopher ; he contributed papers to the Royal Society. A 
friend of Day and Darwin. 
Dr. William Withering, F.R.S. (1741-1799), physician, bota- 
nist, and chemist. He analyzed the mineral witherite named in 
his honor. 
James Watt, F.R.S. (1736-1819), inventor of improvements 
in the steam-engine, chemist, and engineer. Partner of Boul- 
ton. 
Captain James Keir (17..-1814), chemist and author ; pro- 
prietor of several chemical establishments at West Bromwich 
near Birmingham. A friend of Darwin and Small. 
John Baskerville (1706-1775), inventor of superior type, and 
publisher of standard works. 
Rev. Dr. Joseph Priestley, F.R.S. (1733-1804), the father of 
pneumatic chemistry, theologian, and philosopher. 
William Murdock (1754-1839), mechanical engineer, superin- 
tendent of the works of Boulton and Watt. Inventor of the 
system of lighting by gas, and of many improvements in steam 
machinery. 
Rev. R. A. Johnson, F.R.S., of Kenilworth. 
Mr. Samuel Galton, F.R.S., a wealthy man of letters, well 
skilled in chemistry and natural history. 
