8o NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 



1 898- 1 902 



The Academy became connected in 1899 with a movement 

 having for its purpose the association of the scientific academies 

 of Europe and America for the furtherance of enterprises of 

 international scope and importance. It first came to the notice 

 of the National Academy through a letter addressed to its Presi- 

 dent by Lord Lister, President of the Royal Society of London. 

 This letter, which was dated April 14, 1899, is as follows: *^ 



" The Royal Society, Burlington House, 



" London, W ., April 14, i8gg. 



" Sir: The Royal Society has frequently had occasion to take action in respect 

 to scientific undertakings calling for the cooperation of several countries, and 

 undertakings of this nature show a tendency to increase. The experience of the 

 society has led to the belief that it would be verj' advantageous to the interests 

 of science generally if some machinery could be devised by means of which sug- 

 gestions made for international cooperation in scientific inquiries could be thor- 

 oughly discussed by the leading men of science, from a purely scientific point of 

 view, before definite proposals are made with a view to official action by the 

 Governments of the countries concerned. 



" With this view the Royal Society has communicated with the leading 

 scientific academies of Europe, whose replies give much encouragement to the idea 

 that it may be possible to establish an organization under which formal and regular 

 meetings of representatives of all leading scientific academies may be held for the 

 purpose of discussing scientific matters calling for international cooperation, and by 

 this means preparing the way for international action. The Council of the Royal 

 Society regards this question as one of great importance, and I am to request you 

 to bring it before your Academy, and to ask whether that body would be prepared 

 to join such an organization if established, and to cooperate in arranging the 

 details for inaugurating it upon a practical working basis. 



" I have the honor to be, very faithfully, yours, 



" Lister, 

 " President Royal Society." 



The letter was followed in June of the same year by an invita- 

 tion from the German academies, transmitted by the Royal 

 Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin, to send delegates to a 

 conference at Wiesbaden on the 9th and loth of October for 

 the purpose of organizing an international association of learned 



"Rep. Nat. Acad. Sci. for 1899, pp. 14-15. 



