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British Association for the Advancement of Science

 
British Association for the Advancement of Science

 
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British Association for the Advancement of Science
 
 
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The British Association for the Advancement of Science or the British Science Association, formally known as the BA, is a learned society
Learned society

A learned society is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline or group of disciplines. Membership may be open to all, may require possession of some qualification, or may be an honor conferred by election, as is the case with the oldest learned societies, such as the Poland Sodalitas Litterarum Vistulana , the Italian Acc...
 with the object of promoting science
Science

In its broadest sense, science refers to any systematic knowledge or practice. In its more usual restricted sense, science refers to a system of acquiring knowledge based on scientific method, as well as to the organized body of knowledge gained through such research....
, directing general attention to scientific matters, and facilitating interaction between scientific workers. Membership is open to all.

History
It was founded in 1831 and modelled on the German Gesellschaft Deutscher Naturforscher und Ärzte.






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The British Association for the Advancement of Science or the British Science Association, formally known as the BA, is a learned society
Learned society

A learned society is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline or group of disciplines. Membership may be open to all, may require possession of some qualification, or may be an honor conferred by election, as is the case with the oldest learned societies, such as the Poland Sodalitas Litterarum Vistulana , the Italian Acc...
 with the object of promoting science
Science

In its broadest sense, science refers to any systematic knowledge or practice. In its more usual restricted sense, science refers to a system of acquiring knowledge based on scientific method, as well as to the organized body of knowledge gained through such research....
, directing general attention to scientific matters, and facilitating interaction between scientific workers. Membership is open to all.

History


It was founded in 1831 and modelled on the German Gesellschaft Deutscher Naturforscher und Ärzte. The prime mover was William Vernon Harcourt
William Vernon Harcourt (scientist)

William Vernon Harcourt was founder of the British Association for the Advancement of Science....
, following a suggestion by Sir David Brewster
David Brewster

Sir David Brewster, Fellow of the Royal Society was a Scotland scientist, inventor and writer.He was born at Jedburgh, where his father, a teacher of high reputation, was rector of the grammar school....
, who was disillusioned with the elitist and conservative attitude of the Royal Society
Royal Society

The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, or even the Royal, is a learned society for science that was founded in 1660 and is considered by most to be the oldest such society still in existence....
. The first meeting was held in York
York

York is a walled city, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire and River Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city status in the United Kingdom is noted for its rich heritage and it has played an important role throughout much of its almost 2,000 year existence....
 on 27 September 1831 . From that date a meeting was held annually at some place chosen at a previous meeting.

One of the more memorable meetings held by the association, was the 1860 meeting at Oxford, where the now famous debate between Thomas Henry Huxley and Bishop Samuel Wilberforce
Samuel Wilberforce

Samuel Wilberforce was an England bishop in the Church of England, third son of William Wilberforce. Known as "Soapy Sam", Wilberforce was one of the greatest public speakers of his day....
 took place (see the 1860 Oxford evolution debate
1860 Oxford evolution debate

The 1860 Oxford evolution debate took place at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History on 30 June 1860, seven months after the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species....
). This meeting is widly viewed as the turning point in the evolution debate.

Ironically, perhaps the Association's most momentous influence on science was in 1878 when a committee of the Association recommended against constructing Charles Babbage
Charles Babbage

Charles Babbage, Royal Society was an England mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer who originated the concept of a programmable computer....
's analytical engine
Analytical engine

The analytical engine, an important step in the history of computers, was the design of a mechanical general-purpose computer by the British mathematician Charles Babbage....
 .

The Association's major emphasis in recent decades has been on public engagement in science
Public understanding of science

Public understanding of science may refer to:* Public Understanding of Science , an academic journal* Public awareness of science...
. Its annual meeting, now called the Festival of Science, is the largest public showcase for science in the U.K.
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 and attracts a great deal of media attention.

In addition to the Festival of Science, the British Science Association organises the UK National Science and Engineering Week
National Science Week

National Science Week refers to series of science-related events for the general public which are held in a specific countries during a designated week of the year....
, an opportunity for people of all ages to get involved in science, engineering and technology activities.

The Association also has a young people's programme, which seeks to involve school students in science beyond the school curriculum, and to encourage them to consider higher education and careers in science.

The Association was parodied by English
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 novelist Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens

Charles John Huffam Dickens, Royal Society of Arts , pen-name "Boz", was the most popular English people novelist of the Victorian era, as well as a vigorous Reform movement....
 as 'The Mudfog Society for the Advancement of Everything' in The Mudfog Papers
The Mudfog Papers

The Mudfog Papers was written by Victorian era novelist Charles Dickens and published from 1837 – 38 in the monthly literary serial Bentley's Miscellany, which he then Editing....
 (1837 – 38).

In 2009 the Association rebranded itself and now uses the trading name British Science Association instead of the BA. .

Recent Presidents of the British Science Association

  • 2007-08: David King
    David King (scientist)

    Sir David A. King ScD Fellow of the Royal Society is the Director of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford, and a senior scientific adviser to UBS AG ....
  • 2006-07: John Browne, Lord Browne of Madingley
    John Browne, Baron Browne of Madingley

    Edmund John Philip Browne, Baron Browne of Madingley, Fellow of the Royal Society FREng is President of the Royal Academy of Engineering and was group CEO of BP until his resignation on May 1, 2007....
  • 2005-06: Frances Cairncross
    Frances Cairncross

    Frances Anne Cairncross CBE is a British economist, journalist and academic.Cairncross read Modern History at St Anne's College, Oxford, University of Oxford, graduating in 1965, and holds an Master of Arts in Economics from Brown University, Rhode Island....
  • 2004-05: Professor Robert Winston, Lord Winston of Hammersmith
    Robert Winston

    Robert Maurice Lipson Winston, Baron Winston Royal College of Physicians Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists is a United Kingdom medical doctor, scientist, Politics of the United Kingdom, and television presenter....
  • 2003-04: Dame Julia Higgins
    Julia Higgins

    Dame Julia Higgins Order of the British Empire Fellow of the Royal Society Royal Academy of Engineering is Professor of Polymer science in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemical Technology at Imperial College London....
  • 1993-94: Dame Anne McLaren
    Anne McLaren

    Dame Anne Laura Dorinthea McLaren, Order of the British Empire, Fellow of the Royal Society, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists was the daughter of Henry McLaren, 2nd Baron Aberconway and Christabel McNaughten....
  • 1980-81: HRH the Duke of Kent
  • 1979-80: Frederick Dainton, Baron Dainton
    Frederick Dainton, Baron Dainton

    Frederick Dainton, Baron Dainton Royal Society was a United Kingdom academic chemist and university administrator.A graduate of University of Oxford and University of Cambridge, he was Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Leeds, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nottingham, Professor of Chemistry at Oxford and Chancellor...


See also

  • Café Scientifique
    Café Scientifique

    Caf? Scientifique is a grassroots public science initiative currently running in 42 cities across the United Kingdom and cities in other countries....
  • Royal Institution
    Royal Institution

    The Royal Institution of Great Britain is an organization devoted to scientific education and research, based in London. It was founded in 1799 by the leading British scientists of the age, including Henry Cavendish and its first president, George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea, for "diffusing the knowledge, and facilitating the general int...
  • Science Abstracts
    Science Abstracts

    The first issue of Science Abstracts was published in January 1898. During the first year, a total of 1,423 abstracts was published at monthly intervals and at the end of the year an author and subject index were added....
  • Science Festival
    Science festival

    A science festival is a public event featuring a variety of science- and technology-related activities?from lectures, exhibitions, workshops, live demonstrations of experiments, guided tours and panel discussions to cultural events such as theater plays, readings and musical productions, all with the aim of involving the general public in ex...
  • National Science Week
    National Science Week

    National Science Week refers to series of science-related events for the general public which are held in a specific countries during a designated week of the year....
  • Scandinavian Scientist Conference
    Scandinavian Scientist Conference

    The Scandinavian Scientist Conferences was a series of meetings 1839-1936 for scientist and physicists from Denmark, Norway and Sweden, later also Finland and Iceland, in the era Scandinavism....
     (1839-1936)
  • 1860 Oxford evolution debate
    1860 Oxford evolution debate

    The 1860 Oxford evolution debate took place at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History on 30 June 1860, seven months after the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species....


External links



Reports of the meetings 1877-90 are available on