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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XL. No. 1025 



have to say this evening is not, therefore, to 

 be accepted without question as the authori- 

 tative policy of this society; but rather as 

 my personal opinion based upon observa- 

 tion during its entire history and a fairly 

 intimate acquaintance with its foundation. 



Most of you are probably aware that it 

 was organized at Cornell University and 

 that chapter is known as the Alpha. At 

 least as early as 1883 Professor Henry S. 

 Williams, of Cornell, was thinking about 

 the organization of a society which should 

 recognize in some way the attainment of 

 students in science as Phi Beta Kappa did 

 in literary lines. During commencement 

 week of June, 1886, there was organized 

 the Society of Cornell University Geologists 

 by Professor Williams; but its scope was 

 not broad enough to satisfy him and later 

 he drew up a preamble for a national scien- 

 tific organization which was named the 

 Society of Modem Scientists. One para- 

 graph of the preamble stated that 



Therefore we believe it is highly desirable to 

 encourage high attainments among the future stu- 

 dents of Cornell University and other kindred in- 

 stitutions by recognizing by some mark of honor 

 those who exhibit special ability in investigating, 

 understanding and interpreting the facts of na- 

 ture in the various branches of modern science. 



Independently, shortly before the Cornell 

 Commencement of 1886 two engineers, 

 William A. Day and Frank Van Vleck, 

 planned the formation of an honorary 

 scientific society. The following fall they 

 associated with themselves seven other engi- 

 neers and began work on the formal organi- 

 zation of such a society, for which they 

 selected the name Sigma Xi. The preamble 

 of the first printed constitution stated that 

 they were " forming a brotherhood in Sci- 

 ence and Engineering." The membership 

 and its activities, however, supported the 

 conclusion reached by many in contact 

 with it that this was strictly an engineer- 

 ing society. Some time that fall Professor 



Williams learned of this movement when 

 he attempted to interest the engineers in 

 the formation of a general society to select 

 men in the same way for membership from 

 those departments of applied science that 

 he was advocating for the departments of 

 pure science. Suffice it to say, without 

 relating all the details, that the two move- 

 ments joined forces, and the formal organi- 

 zation of Sigma Xi was accepted as the 

 working nucleus of a university honorary 

 scientific society. The minutes of the 

 second meeting of Sigma Xi state that the 

 proposals of Professor Williams were ac- 

 cepted, and at the fourth meeting he was 

 nominated for a member of the society 

 and unanimously elected. This was in the 

 fall of 1886 and made the charter mem- 

 bership of the society ten. At the next 

 meeting four additional members of the 

 faculty and five graduate students were 

 elected to membership, so that twenty- 

 seven years have passed since the first 

 members, similar to those we have now 

 met to initiate, were received into this soci- 

 ety. During these years it has attained an 

 honored position in the university world, 

 as well as entrance to most of the institu- 

 tions of learning in this country ia which 

 science is strong, so that there are now 

 twenty-eight chapters with a total member- 

 ship of 7,498, as recorded in the " Quarter 

 Century Record History of Sigma Xi." 

 So much for the history of this society 

 to which you have been elected members. 



Its aims may be explained in part by 

 some account of the spirit of the institu- 

 tion in which it was born. In any list of 

 the ultimate causes which led to the organi- 

 zation of Sigma Xi should be ranked very- 

 high the influence of Andrew Dixon White, 

 the first president of Cornell University. 

 A scholar, an author of renown, a diplomat, 

 statesman, university professor and presi- 

 dent, he certainly ranks among the few 



