Introduction 
The Academy of Science of St. Louis traces its origin to 1836, 
with the formation of the Western Academy of Natural Sciences of St. 
Louis, whose goals were to improve the cultural standards of the city 
and to aid in the exploration and exploitation of the West. Although 
this first institution for the advancement of science west of the Mississippi 
was founded by learned men of the highest order, the Western Academy 
lapsed after only seven years because of funding problems. However, 
in those few years, it established a firm foundation of precedents upon 
which the Academy of Science of St. Louis was built thirteen years 
later. The Western Academy’s legacy was great: the new organization 
inherited not only its library and museum collections, but also its goal 
of encouraging the growth of science on the frontier and its application 
to the needs of society. 
Over the years, through many vicissitudes and trials and tribula- 
tions, the Academy pursued its goals by adding to its library and museum 
collections, by sponsoring lectures on learned subjects, and by the 
publication of Transactions. 
With the establishment of the Museum of Science and Natural 
History in the late 1950s, one of the Academy’s foundation goals final- 
ly came to fruition. The merger of the Museum and the McDonnell 
Planetarium to form the St. Louis Science Center, under its own ad- 
ministration and partly tax-supported, freed the Academy to concen- 
trate on some of its other goals, including the promotion of public 
understanding and appreciation of science and technology, the encourage- 
ment of education in science and its related disciplines, and the foster- 
ing of collaboration—in a recreational atmosphere—among learned in- 
dividuals who share similar goals. To these ends the Academy now is 
devoting its resources. 
Over the years, several short histories of the St. Louis Academy 
of Science have been published. This publication, however, is the first 
comprehensive, fully documented narrative of the organization’s rich 
and fruitful past. 
Jules D. Campbell 
President, Academy 
of Science of St. Louis 
