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pastor of Christ Lutheran Church; Dr. John Wakefield Francis, one of Dr. Mitchill's younger colleagues on the faculty of the medical college, was corresponding secretary; the recording secretary was John Brodhead Beck, then a student of medicine; and the treasurer was Dr. Benjamin P. Kissam, who had received his medical degree the preceding year. It is noteworthy that, of the twenty-one signers of the constitution at this meeting, a majority were students, graduates or members of the faculty of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, and as far as known none but the president was more than twenty-seven years old. Among those added during the next three months, and counted as original members," were several older men, and some who were in no way connected with the medical college, but of these few were ever active in the affairs of the Lyceum.

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For nearly fifteen years, from April, 1817, to September, 1831, the Lyceum enjoyed the hospitality of the Common Council of the city, sharing with other societies, rent free, the use of the "New York Institution," popularly known as the "Old Almshouse," in City Hall Park. Here the Lyceum had rooms for its meetings, and for the preservation and display of its collections; these grew apace, not only by gifts, but by the incorporation of material collected specifically for the "cabinet" by Lyceum members. Dr. Mitchill wrote:

The members called it the Lyceum, in remembrance of the school founded by that sublime genius, Aristotle, at Athens. Disciples of the "mighty Stagirite," they determined, after his example, to be Peripatetics, and to explore and expound the arcana of nature as they walked. During the first year of the society, 1817, we have mention of collecting trips by Mitchill, Townsend, Torrey, Rafinesque, and Knevels. Within ten years the cabinet of the Lyceum comprised one of the most extensive collections of natural objects in America, excelling all others in its series of minerals, fossils, reptiles, fishes and echinoderms. It is evident that one of the chief purposes of the society from its establishment was the formation of such a museum, and its success was phenomenal.

Soon after the establishment of the Lyceum, the formation of a library was commenced, but this consisted largely of books loaned by members and subsequently withdrawn, so that after an interval of seven years the number of books actually owned by the society was less than two hundred. An old organization known as the United States Military and Philosophical Society, however, having become extinct, with about $2,500 in its treasury, the surviving members transferred this sum to the Lyceum

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President of the Lyceum of Natural History, 1817 to 1823.

for use as a library fund. This happened in 1825, and the library then began to grow rapidly and steadily. There are various statistical reports and catalogues recording the number of books at different dates, but it is impossible to use these for comparison, chiefly because of failure to distinguish clearly between the number of volumes and the number of titles.

The first publication of the Lyceum was undoubtedly the printed Constitution, laid on the table at the meeting of May 19, 1817. Technical scientific publication commenced with the issue of the first number of the Annals, in 1823. Two volumes had been completed five years later; these initiated the long series of Annals, Proceedings, Transactions, and Memoirs, that have spread the fame of the earlier Lyceum and later Academy throughout the world of science.

VOL. V.-30.

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President of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1916 to 1917.

In 1829 the members of the Lyceum learned that they might at any time be required to vacate the four rooms in the New York Institution occupied by them for their meetings, library, and collections, and they began at once to look about for new quarters. A building-fund was inaugurated, but the project had not even reached the stage of selection of a building-site when removal became imperative. The library and collections were temporarily deposited in other rooms in the same building during the winter of 1830-31; the following summer they were removed to new rooms in the New York Dispensary, on the corner of White and Center Streets, and in these rooms the Lyceum met for the first time September 4, 1831.

The Dispensary remained the home of the Lyceum for nearly five years. Meanwhile, the building project was being pushed

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COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS, BARCLAY STREET. Where the Lyceum of Natural History was Organized, 1817.

with more energy than caution. In January, 1835, two lots were purchased at 561-565 Broadway, south of Prince Street; construction was commenced in May. A year later, May 9, 1836, the society held its first meeting in its new building.

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NEW YORK INSTITUTION, The "Old Almshouse.". Western End, Facing Broadway. Home of the Lyceum from 1817 to 1831.

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NEW YORK DISPENSARY, WHITE AND CENTRE STREETS. Home of the Lyceum from 1831 to 1836.

There was now ample room for the proper accommodation of the collections and library, and there were stores on the street level and rooms on the upper floors to contribute an income. About fifteen thousand dollars in cash had been invested in the land and building; but this was in a period of financial inflation, and the three mortgages on the property totalled thirty-five thousand dollars. During the years of depression that followed, the financial troubles of the Lyceum went from bad to worse, until finally, in February, 1844, the property was sold at

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THE LYCEUM BUILDING, No. 563 BROADWAY. Erected 1835-6; Lost by Foreclosure of Mortgage, 1844.

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