British Science Association

British Science Association

Founded	1831[1]
Type	Professional Organisation and Registered Charity
Registration no.	212479
Location	Wellcome Wolfson Building, 165 Queen's Gate, London SW7 5HD[2]
Coordinates	51°29′49″N 0°10′45″W / 51.497074°N 0.1791942°WCoordinates: 51°29′49″N 0°10′45″W / 51.497074°N 0.1791942°W
Area served	UK, Worldwide
Key people	Chair: Lord Willetts President: Professor Dame Athene Donald[3]
Revenue	£2,908,598 (year ending Dec 2014)[2]
Employees	30[2]
Volunteers	650[2]
Mission	to support, grow and diversify the community of people interested and involved in science; and to strengthen their influence over science's direction and place in society.[1]
Website	britishscienceassociation.org

The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science.^[1] Formerly known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA), in 2009 the Association rebranded itself and now uses its current name.^[4]

History

Foundation

The Association was founded in 1831^[5] and modelled on the German Gesellschaft Deutscher Naturforscher und Ärzte.^[6] The prime mover (who is regarded as the main founder) was Reverend William Vernon Harcourt, following a suggestion by Sir David Brewster, who was disillusioned with the elitist and conservative attitude of the Royal Society. Brewster, Charles Babbage, William Whewell and J. F. W. Johnston^[7] are also considered to be founding members. The first meeting was held in York (at the Yorkshire Museum) on Tuesday 27 September 1831 with various scientific papers being presented on the following days. It was chaired by Viscount Milton, President of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society, and "upwards of 300 gentlemen" attended the meeting.^[8] The Preston Mercury recorded that those gathered consisted of "persons of distinction from various parts of the kingdom, together with several of the gentry of Yorkshire and the members of philosopher societies in this country". The newspaper published the names of over a hundred of those attending and these included, amongst others, eighteen clergymen, eleven doctors, four knights, two Viscounts and one Lord.^[9]

From that date onwards a meeting was held annually at a place chosen at a previous meeting. In 1832, for example, the meeting was held in Oxford, chaired by Reverend Dr William Buckland. By this stage the Association had four sections: Physics (including Mathematics and Mechanical Arts), Chemistry (including Mineralogy and Chemical Arts), Geology (including Geography) and Natural History.^[10]

One of the most famous events linked to the Association Meeting was an exchange between Thomas Henry Huxley and Bishop Samuel Wilberforce in 1860 (see the 1860 Oxford evolution debate). Although it is often described as a "debate", the exchange occurred after the presentation of a paper by Prof Draper of New York, on the intellectual development of Europe with relation to Darwin's theory (one of a number of scientific papers presented during the week) and the subsequent discussion involved a number of other participants (although Wilberforce and Huxley were the most prominent).^[11] Although a number of newspapers made passing references to the exchange,^[12] it was not until later that it was accorded greater significance in the evolution debate.^[13]

Electrical standards

One of the most important contributions of the British Association was the establishment of standards for electrical usage: the ohm as the unit of electrical resistance, the volt as the unit of electrical potential, and the ampere as the unit of electrical current.^[14] A need for standards arose with the submarine telegraph industry. Practitioners came to use their own standards established by wire coils: "By the late 1850s, Clark, Varley, Bright, Smith and other leading British cable engineers were using calibrated resistance coils on a regular basis and were beginning to use calibrated condensers as well."^[14]:52

The undertaking was suggested to the BA by William Thomson, and its success was due to the use of Thomson’s mirror galvanometer. Josiah Latimer Clark and Fleeming Jenkin made preparations. Thomson, with his students, found that impure copper, contaminated with arsenic, introduced significant extra resistance. The chemist Augustus Matthiessen contributed an appendix (A) to the final 1873 report^[15] that showed temperature-dependence of alloys.

The natural relation between these units are clearly, that a unit of electromotive force between two points of a conductor separated by a unit of resistance shall produce unit current, and that this current in a unit of time convey a unit quantity of electricity.

The unit system was "absolute" since it agreed with previously accepted units of work, or energy:

The unit current of electricity, in passing through a conductor of unit resistance, does a unit of work or its equivalent in a unit of time.

Other

The Association introduced the British Association (usually termed "BA") screw threads, a series of screw thread standards in sizes from 0.25mm ("25BA") up to 6mm ("0BA"), in 1884. The standards were ahead of their time in that they were based on the metric system, although they had to be re-defined in imperial terms for use by UK industry. They remained in general use for instruments and small assemblies until metrication in the 1970s.

A decision that became notorious in the twentieth century was made in 1878 when a committee of the Association recommended against constructing Charles Babbage's analytical engine.^[16]

The Association was parodied by English novelist Charles Dickens as 'The Mudfog Society for the Advancement of Everything' in The Mudfog Papers (1837–38).

Perception of science in the UK

The Association's main aim is to improve the perception of science and scientists in the UK. Membership is open to all.

Prof Sir George Porter, on becoming President in September 1985, was scathing against so-called 'soft sciences' such as psychology, and even economics (both part of the Association). He claimed that academics in these areas were far too eager to try to put unsubstantiated assertions into practice on the public and that undergraduates were often taught unsubstantiated assertions, as if they had been established by rigorous scientific method. He claimed this was damaging the public perception of science.

The following September he said that the general level of scientific understanding in Britain was lamentably low, with many senior politicians, religious leaders and controllers of the media scientifically uneducated. He said of Britain's education system that although it provides the finest education anywhere for the young man or woman who wants to be an academic scientist, it leaves the majority ignorant of the scientific world where they will live and work and it was the duty of scientists to drag kicking and screaming into the twenty first century those who have no taste for the subject. On science education in schools he said of all the many crises in education and science, perhaps the most serious is the disappearing species of the good teacher of physics, mathematics and to a lesser extent the other sciences and that if it is allowed to go much further, there will be no recovery for generations, comparing it to China's Cultural Revolution which he said produced a lost generation.

Sir Kenneth Durham, former Director of Research at Unilever, on becoming President in August 1987 followed on from Sir George Porter saying that science teachers needed extra pay to overcome the scarcity of mathematics and physics teachers in secondary schools, and that unless we deal with this as matter of urgency, the outlook for our manufacturing future is bleak. He regretted that headmasters and careers masters had for many years followed 'the cult of Oxbridge' because it carried more prestige to read Classics at Oxbridge and go into the Civil Service or banking, than to read engineering at, say, Salford, and go into manufacturing industry. He said that reporting of sciences gave good coverage to medical science, but that nevertheless, editors ought to be sensitive to developments in areas such as solid state physics, astro-physics, colloid science, molecular biology, transmission of stimuli along nerve fibres, and so on, and that newspaper editors were in danger of waiting for disasters before the scientific factors involved in the incidents were explained.

In September 2001 Sir William Stewart, as outgoing president, warned that universities faced 'dumbing down' and that we can deliver social inclusiveness, and the best universities, but not both from a limited amount of money. We run the risk of doing neither well. Universities are underfunded, and must not be seen simply as a substitute for National Service to keep youngsters off the dole queue. He also said scientists have to be careful and consider the full implications of what they are seeking to achieve. The problem with some clever people is that they find cleverer ways of being stupid.

In September 2003 Sir Peter Williams, the outgoing president, said that the world was facing a shortage of scientists because too many young people dropped the subject at an early age.

British Science Festival

The Association's major emphasis in recent decades has been on public engagement in science. Its annual meeting, now called the British Science Festival, is the largest public showcase for science in the UK and attracts a great deal of media attention. It is held at UK universities in early September for one week, with visits to science-related local cultural attractions.

The 2010 Festival, held in Birmingham with Aston University as lead University partner, featured a prank event: the unveiling of Dulcis foetidus, a fictional plant purported to emit a pungent odour. An experiment in herd mentality, some audience members were induced into believing they could smell it.^[17] The Festival also hosts the x-change- a lively informal roundup of the day's events where festival-goers can ask questions, debate and hear star speakers. The Festival has also been the home to protest and debate. In 1970 there were protestors over the use of science for weapons.

Science Communication Conference

The Association holds an annual Science Communication Conference, the largest in the UK, which addresses the key issues facing science communicators. Each year it brings together 350 delegates involved in public engagement; from science educators, science centre communicators, journalists, scientists and policy makers. In 2011, the theme of the conference was 'Online Engagement'. The 2012 Science Communication Conference will be held on 14–15 May at Kings Place, London with the theme 'Impact'.

British Science Week

In addition to the Festival of Science, the British Science Association organises the British Science Week (formerly National Science & Engineering Week), an opportunity for people of all ages to get involved in science, engineering, technology and maths activities, originating as the National Week of Science, Engineering and Technology.^[18]

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.

Presidents of the British Science Association

Traditionally the president is elected at the meeting usually held in August/September for a one-year term and gives a presidential address upon retiring. The honour of the presidency is traditionally bestowed only once per individual. Written sources that give the year of presidency as a single year generally mean the year in which the presidential address is given.

• 2015-16: Dame Athene Donald FRS, physicist and Master since 2014 of Churchill College, Cambridge
• 2014-14: Sir Paul Nurse FRS, President from 2010-15 of the Royal Society, and joint winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (for work on cell cycle division)
• 2013–14: Lisa Jardine CBE, historian
• 2012–13: John Krebs, Baron Krebs FRS
• 2011–12: Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell FRS, FRSE

  Presidents 1900-2010

• 2010–11: David Sainsbury, Lord Sainsbury of Turville
• 2009–10: Robert May, Baron May of Oxford
• 2007–08: Sir David King, Government Chief Scientific Adviser from 2000–08
• 2006–07: John Browne, Lord Browne of Madingley
• 2005–06: Frances Cairncross CBE, economist
• 2004–05: Prof Robert Winston, Lord Winston of Hammersmith
• 2003–04: Dame Julia Higgins
• 2002–03: Sir Peter Williams CBE, physicist
• 2001–02: Sir Howard Newby, sociologist
• 2000–01: Sir William Stewart, Government Chief Scientific Adviser from 1990–95
• 1999–2000: Anne, Princess Royal
• 1998–99: Sir Richard Sykes, biochemist and chief executive from 1993–7 of Glaxo
• 1997–98 Prof Colin Blakemore, neuroscientist
• 1996–97: Sir Derek Roberts CBE, electronics engineer, and Provost of UCL from 1989–99
• 1995–96: Ronald Oxburgh, Baron Oxburgh, geologist and Rector of Imperial College London from 1993–2000
• 1994–95: Sir Martin Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow FRS, astrophysicist
• 1993–94: Dame Anne McLaren, IVF biologist
• 1992–93: Sir David Weatherall, haemotologist
• 1991–92 Sir David Attenborough
• 1990–91: Sir Denis Rooke
• 1989–90: Claus Moser, Baron Moser, Director from 1967–78 of the Central Statistical Office
• 1988–89: Sir Samuel Edwards, physicist
• 1987–88: Sir Walter Bodmer, geneticist
• 1986–87 Sir Kenneth Durham, Chairman from 1982–6 of Unilever
• 1985–86: Prof George Porter, Baron Porter of Luddenham, Nobel Prize winning (1967) chemist
• 1984–85: Prof Sir Hans Kornberg, biochemist
• 1983–84: Sir Alastair Pilkington, inventor
• 1982–83: Sir Basil John Mason CB, Director-General from 1965–83 of the Met Office
• 1981–82: Prof Sir Charles Frederick Carter, economist
• 1980–81: HRH the Duke of Kent
• 1979–80: Frederick Dainton, Baron Dainton
• 1978–79: Frank Kearton, Baron Kearton OBE,
• 1977–78: Prof Dorothy Hodgkin, Nobel Prize winning (1964) chemist
• 1976–77: Sir Andrew Huxley, Nobel Prize winning (1963) physiologist, known for discovering nerve action potentials
• 1975–76: John Baker, Baron Baker OBE, structural engineer known for limit state design
• 1974–75: Sir Bernard Lovell, astronomer
• 1973–74: Sir John Kendrew CBE, Nobel Prize winning (1962) biochemist who discovered the structure of myoglobin
• 1972–73: Sir Kingsley Charles Dunham, geologist and mineralogist
• 1971–72: Sir Vivian Fuchs FRS, explorer
• 1970–71: Sir Alexander Cairncross, economist
• 1969–70: Alexander R. Todd, Baron Todd, Nobel Prize winning (1957) biochemist known for nucleotides and coenzymes
• 1968–69: Sir Peter Medawar, zoologist and immunologist
• 1967–68: Dame Kathleen Lonsdale, physicist who discovered the cyclic nature of benzene in 1929
• 1966–67: Willis Jackson, Baron Jackson of Burnley, technologist and electrical engineer
• 1965–66: Sir Joseph Hutchinson, biologist
• 1964–65: Sir Cyril Norman Hinshelwood, Nobel Prize winning (1956) chemist
• 1963–64: Russell Brain, 1st Baron Brain, neurologist
• 1962–63: Eric Ashby, Baron Ashby, Vice-Chancellor from 1950–59 of Queen's University Belfast
• 1961–62: Sir John Cockcroft CBE, Nobel Prize winning (1951) physicist
• 1960–61: Sir Wilfrid Le Gros Clark, primatologist and palaeoanthropologist
• 1959–60: Sir George Paget Thomson, physicist
• 1958–59: Sir James Gray, zoologist
• 1957–58: Alexander Fleck, 1st Baron Fleck, industrial chemist
• 1956–57: Patrick Blackett, Baron Blackett, physicist
• 1955–56: Sir Raymond Priestley, geologist and Vice-Chancellor from 1938–52 of the University of Birmingham
• 1954–55: Sir Robert Robinson, chemist
• 1953–54: Edgar Adrian, 1st Baron Adrian, neuroscientist
• 1952–53: Sir Edward Victor Appleton, Nobel Prize winning (1947) physicist
• 1951–52: Archibald Vivian Hill, physiologist
• 1950–51: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
• 1949–50: Sir Harold Hartley, physical chemist
• 1948–49: Sir E. John Russell, agriculturalist
• 1947–48: Sir Henry Tizard, chemist and inventor
• 1946–1947: Sir Henry Dale, physiologist
• 1939–1946: Sir Albert Charles Seward, geologist
• 1938: Robert Strutt, 4th Baron Rayleigh, physicist and son of Nobel Prize–winning John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh
• 1937: Sir Edward Bagnall Poulton, evolutionary biologist
• 1936: Josiah Stamp, 1st Baron Stamp, statistician
• 1935: William Whitehead Watts, geologist
• 1934: Sir James Hopwood Jeans, astronomer
• 1933: Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins, Nobel Prize winning (1929) biochemist who discovered vitamins
• 1932: Sir James Alfred Ewing, physicist and Vice-Chancellor from 1916–29 of the University of Edinburgh
• 1931: General Jan Christiaan Smuts FRS
• 1930: Frederick Orpen Bower, botanist
• 1929: Sir Thomas Henry Holland, geologist
• 1928: Sir William Henry Bragg, physicist
• 1927: Prof Sir Arthur Keith, anatomist and anthropologist
• 1926: Edward, Prince of Wales
• 1925: Sir Horace Lamb, physicist
• 1924: Major-General Sir David Bruce, microbiologist
• 1923: Professor Sir Ernest Rutherford, physicist
• 1922: Professor Sir Charles Scott Sherrington, neuroscientist
• 1921: Sir T. Edward Thorpe, chemist
• 1920: William Abbott Herdman, oceanographer
• 1916–1919: Sir Charles Algernon Parsons, engineer
• 1916: Sir Arthur Evans, archaeologist
• 1915: Sir Arthur Schuster, physicist
• 1914: William Bateson, geneticist
• 1913: Sir Oliver Lodge, physicist
• 1912: Edward Albert Schäfer, physiologist
• 1911: Sir William Ramsay, chemist
• 1910: Rev. Professor Thomas George Bonney, geologist
• 1909: Sir J. J. Thomson, physicist
• 1908: Sir Francis Darwin, son of Charles
• 1907: Sir David Gill CB, astronomer
• 1906: Sir Ray Lankester, zoologist^[19]
• 1905: Sir George Darwin, older brother of Francis
• 1904: Arthur James Balfour MP, FRS
• 1903: Sir Norman Lockyer FRS, astronomer and physicist
• 1902: Sir James Dewar FRS, chemist and physicist
• 1901: Arthur William Rücker FRS, physicist
• 1900: Sir William Turner, anatomist and Vice-Chancellor from 1903–16 of the University of Edinburgh

  Presidents to 1899

• 1899: Sir Michael Foster, physiologist
• 1898: Sir William Crookes FRS, chemist and physicist
• 1897: John Evans, archaeologist
• 1896: Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister
• 1895: Captain Sir Douglas Strutt Galton FRS, civil engineer
• 1894: Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury FRS
• 1893: Sir John Scott Burdon-Sanderson, medical doctor
• 1892: Sir Archibald Geikie, geologist
• 1891: Sir Frederick August Abel FRS
• 1890: Sir William Huggins FRS, FRAS, FBAS, astronomer
• 1889: Sir William Henry Flower CB, anatomist
• 1888: Sir Frederick Bramwell, civil engineer
• 1887: Sir Henry Enfield Roscoe, chemist
• 1886: Sir John William Dawson CMG, geologist
• 1885: Lyon Playfair, 1st Baron Playfair MP, FRS, FRSE
• 1884: John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh FRS, FRAS, FGS, physicist
• 1883: Arthur Cayley, mathematician^[20]
• 1882: C. W. Siemens FRS, FRSA, engineer
• 1881: John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury MP, FRS
• 1880: Sir Andrew Crombie Ramsay FRS, geologist
• 1879: George James Allman FRS, naturalist
• 1878: William Spottiswoode FRS, mathematician
• 1877: Allen Thomson MD, FRS, FRSE
• 1876: Thomas Andrews MD, FRS, chemist
• 1875: Sir John Hawkshaw FRS, civil engineer
• 1874: John Tyndall FRS, physicist
• 1873: Alexander William Williamson FRS, chemist
• 1872: William Benjamin Carpenter MD, FRS
• 1871: Sir William Thomson FRS, FRSE, physicist
• 1870: Thomas Henry Huxley FRS, biologist
• 1869: Sir George Stokes, 1st Baronet FRS, mathematical physicist
• 1868: Joseph Dalton Hooker MD, FRS, botanist
• 1867: Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch FRS
• 1866: William Robert Grove FRS
• 1865: John Phillips FRS, geologist
• 1864: Sir Charles Lyell, geologist
• 1863: William Armstrong, engineer and inventor
• 1862: Rev. Robert Willis FRS, civil engineer
• 1861: Sir William Fairbairn, civil engineer
• 1860: John Wrottesley, 2nd Baron Wrottesley FRAS, astronomer
• 1859: Albert, Prince Consort
• 1858: Sir Richard Owen MD, FLS, FGS, naturalist
• 1857: Rev. Humphrey Lloyd FRS, FRSE, physicist
• 1856: Charles D. B. Daubeny MD, FRS, botanist
• 1855: George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll FRS, FRSE, FGS
• 1854: Dudley Ryder, 2nd Earl of Harrowby FRS
• 1853: William Hopkins FGS, mathematician and geologist
• 1852: Colonel Edward Sabine, Vice-president of the Royal Society ^[21]
• 1851: Sir George Biddell Airy, Astronomer Royal ^[21]
• 1850: Sir David Brewster, physicist
• 1849: Rev. Thomas Romney Robinson, astronomer ^[21]
• 1848: Spencer Compton, 2nd Marquess of Northampton, geologist ^[21]
• 1847: Sir Robert Harry Inglis ^[21]
• 1846: Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, geologist ^[21]
• 1845: Sir John F. W. Herschel, astronomer & polymath ^[21]
• 1844: Rev. George Peacock, mathematician ^[21]
• 1843: William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, astronomer ^[21]
• 1842: Lord Francis Egerton ^[21]
• 1841: Rev. William Whewell, polymath and philosopher of science
• 1840: John Campbell, 2nd Marquess of Breadalbane, F.R.S.^[21]
• 1839: Canon William Vernon Harcourt, FRS
• 1838: Algernon Percy, 4th Duke of Northumberland, Naval officer ^[21]
• 1837: William Cavendish, 2nd Earl of Burlington, Chancellor of the University of London ^[21]
• 1836: Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne, statistician ^[21]
• 1835: Rev. Humphrey Lloyd, physicist ^[21]
• 1834: Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, astronomer ^[21]
• 1833: Rev. Adam Sedgwick, geologist
• 1832: Rev. William Buckland, palaeontologist
• 1831: Charles Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 5th Earl Fitzwilliam, statistician.^[21][22]

List of Annual Meetings

• 1831 (1st meeting) York, England.
• 1832 (2nd meeting) Oxford, England.

  Meetings from 1833 to 2012

• 1833 (3rd meeting) Cambridge, England.^[23]
• 1834 (4th meeting) Edinburgh, Scotland.^[24]
• 1835 (5th meeting) Dublin, Ireland.^[21]
• 1836 (6th meeting) Bristol, England.^[25]
• 1837 (7th meeting) Liverpool, England.^[26]
• 1838 (8th meeting) Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England.^[27]
• 1839 (9th meeting) Birmingham, England.^[28]
• 1840 (10th meeting) Glasgow, Scotland.^[29]
• 1841 (11th meeting) Plymouth, England.^[30]
• 1842 (12th meeting) Manchester.^[31]
• 1843 (13th meeting) Cork, Ireland.^[32]
• 1844 (14th meeting) York, England.^[33]
• 1845 (15th meeting) Cambridge, England.^[34]
• 1846 (16th meeting) Southampton, England.
• 1847 (17th meeting) Oxford, England.
• 1848 (18th meeting) Swansea, Wales.
• 1849 (19th meeting) Birmingham, England.
• 1850 (20th meeting) Edinburgh, Scotland.
• 1851 (21st meeting) Ipswich, England.
• 1852 (22nd meeting) Belfast, Northern Ireland.
• 1853 (23rd meeting) Hull, England.
• 1854 (24th meeting) Liverpool, England.
• 1855 (25th meeting) Glasgow, Scotland.
• 1856 (26th meeting) Cheltenham, England.
• 1857 (27th meeting) Dublin, Ireland.
• 1858 (28th meeting) Leeds, England.
• 1859 (29th meeting) Aberdeen, Scotland.
• 1860 (30th meeting) Oxford, England.^[35]
• 1861 (31st meeting) Manchester, England.^[36]
• 1862 (32nd meeting) Cambridge, England.^[37]
• 1863 (33rd meeting) Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England.^[38]
• 1864 (34th meeting) Bath, England.^[39]
• 1865 (35th meeting) Birmingham, England.^[40]
• 1866 (36th meeting) Nottingham, England.^[41]
• 1867 (37th meeting) Dundee, Scotland.^[42]
• 1868 (38th meeting) Norwich, England.^[43]
• 1869 (39th meeting) Exeter, England.^[44]
• 1870 (40th meeting) Liverpool, England.^[45]
• 1871 (41st meeting) Edinburgh, Scotland.^[46]
• 1872 (42nd meeting) Brighton, England.^[47]
• 1873 (43rd meeting) Bradford, England.^[48]
• 1874 (44th meeting) Belfast, Northern Ireland.^[49]
• 1875 (45th meeting) Bristol, England.^[50]
• 1876 (46th meeting) Glasgow, Scotland.^[51]
• 1877 (47th meeting) Plymouth, England.^[52]
• 1878 (48th meeting) Dublin, Ireland.^[53]
• 1879 (49th meeting) Sheffield, England.^[54]
• 1880 (50th meeting) Swansea, Wales.^[55]
• 1881 (51st meeting) York, England.^[56]
• 1882 (52nd meeting) Southampton, England.^[57]
• 1883 (53rd meeting) Southport, England.^[58]
• 1884 (54th meeting) Montreal, Canada.^[59]
• 1885 (55th meeting) Aberdeen, Scotland.^[60]
• 1886 (56th meeting) Birmingham, England.^[61]
• 1887 (57th meeting) Manchester, England.^[62]
• 1888 (58th meeting) Bath, England.^[63]
• 1889 (59th meeting) Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England.^[64]
• 1890 (60th meeting) Leeds, England.^[65]
• 1891 (61st meeting) Cardiff, Wales.^[66]
• 1892 (62nd meeting) Edinburgh, Scotland.^[67]
• 1893 (63rd meeting) Nottingham, England.^[68]
• 1894 (64th meeting) Oxford, England.^[69]
• 1895 (65th meeting) Ipswich, England.^[70]
• 1896 (66th meeting) Liverpool, England.^[71]
• 1897 (67th meeting) Toronto, Canada.^[72]
• 1898 (68th meeting) Bristol, England.^[73]
• 1899 (69th meeting) Dover, England.^[74]
• 1900 (70th meeting) Bradford, England.^[75]
• 1901 (71st meeting) Glasgow, Scotland.^[76]
• 1902 (72nd meeting) Belfast, Northern Ireland.^[77]
• 1903 (73rd meeting) Southport, England.^[78]
• 1904 (74th meeting) Cambridge, England.
• 1905 (75th meeting) Various, South Africa.
• 1906 (76th meeting) York, England.
• 1907 (77th meeting) Leicester, England.
• 1908 (78th meeting) Dublin, Ireland.
• 1909 (79th meeting) Winnipeg, Canada.
• 1910 (80th meeting) Sheffield, England.
• 1911 (81st meeting) Portsmouth, England.
• 1912 (82nd meeting) Dundee, Scotland.
• 1913 (83rd meeting) Birmingham, England.
• 1914 (84th meeting) Various, Australia.
• 1915 (85th meeting) Manchester, England.
• 1916 (86th meeting) Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England.
• 1917 No meeting
• 1918 No meeting
• 1919 (87th meeting) Bournemouth, England.
• 1920 (88th meeting) Cardiff, Wales.
• 1921 (89th meeting) Edinburgh, Scotland.
• 1922 (90th meeting) Hull, England.
• 1923 (91st meeting) Liverpool, England.
• 1924 (92nd meeting) Toronto, Canada.
• 1925 (93rd meeting) Southampton, England.
• 1926 (94th meeting) Oxford, England.
• 1927 (95th meeting) Leeds, England.
• 1928 (96th meeting) Glasgow, Scotland.
• 1929 (97th meeting) Various, South Africa.
• 1930 (98th meeting) Bristol, England.
• 1931 (99th meeting) London, England.
• 1932 (100th meeting) York, England.
• 1933 (101st meeting) Leicester, England.
• 1934 (102nd meeting) Aberdeen, Scotland.
• 1935 (103rd meeting) Norwich, England.
• 1936 (104th meeting) Blackpool, England.
• 1937 (105th meeting) Nottingham, England.
• 1938 (106th meeting) Cambridge, England.
• 1939 (107th meeting) Dundee, Scotland.
• 1940 No meeting
• 1941 No meeting
• 1942 No meeting
• 1943 No meeting
• 1944 No meeting
• 1945 No meeting
• 1946 No full meeting (An abbreviated one-day meeting was held in London on 20 July 1946; Sir Henry Dale was elected the new president.)^[79]
• 1947 (109th meeting) Dundee, Scotland.^[80]
• 1948 (110th meeting) Brighton, England.^[81]
• 1949 (111th meeting) Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England.
• 1950 (112th meeting) Birmingham, England.
• 1951 (113th meeting) Edinburgh, Scotland.
• 1952 (114th meeting) Belfast, Northern Ireland.
• 1953 (115th meeting) Liverpool, England.
• 1954 (116th meeting) Oxford, England.
• 1955 (117th meeting) Bristol, England.^[82]
• 1956 (118th meeting) Sheffield, England.
• 1957 (119th meeting) Dublin, Ireland.
• 1958 (120th meeting) Glasgow, Scotland.
• 1959 (121st meeting) York, England.
• 1960 (122nd meeting) Cardiff, England.
• 1961 (123rd meeting) Norwich, England.
• 1962 (124th meeting) Manchester, England.
• 1963 (125th meeting) Aberdeen, Scotland.
• 1964 (126th meeting) Southampton, England.
• 1965 (127th meeting) Cambridge, England.
• 1966 (128th meeting) Nottingham, England.
• 1967 (129th meeting) Leeds, England.
• 1968 (130th meeting) Dundee, Scotland.^[83]
• 1969 (131st meeting) Exeter, England.^[84]
• 1970 (132nd meeting) Durham, England.
• 1971 (133rd meeting) Swansea, Wales.^[85]
• 1972 (134th meeting) Leicester, England.
• 1973 (135th meeting) Canterbury, England.
• 1974 (136th meeting) Stirling, Scotland.
• 1975 (137th meeting) Guildford, England.
• 1976 (138th meeting) Lancaster, England.
• 1977 (139th meeting) Birmingham, England.
• 1978 (140th meeting) Bath, England.
• 1979 (141st meeting) Edinburgh, Scotland.^[86]
• 1980 (142nd meeting) Salford, England.^[87]
• 1981 (143rd meeting) York, England.
• 1982 (144th meeting) Liverpool, England.
• 1983 (145th meeting) Brighton, England.
• 1984 (146th meeting) Norwich, England.
• 1985 (147th meeting) Glasgow, Scotland.
• 1986 (148th meeting) Bristol, England.
• 1987 (149th meeting) Belfast, Northern Ireland.
• 1988 (150th meeting) Oxford, England.
• 1989 (151st meeting) Sheffield, England.
• 1990 (151st meeting) Swansea, Wales.
• 1991 (152nd meeting) Plymouth, England.
• 1992 (153rd meeting) Southampton, England.
• 1993 (154th meeting) Keele, England.
• 1994 (155th meeting) Loughborough, England.
• 1995 (156th meeting) Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England.
• 1996 (157th meeting) Birmingham, England.
• 1997 (158th meeting) Leeds, England.
• 1998 (159th meeting) Cardiff, Wales.
• 1999 (160th meeting) Sheffield, England.
• 2000 (161st meeting) London, England.
• 2001 (162nd meeting) Glasgow, Scotland.
• 2002 (163rd meeting) Leicester, England.
• 2003 (164th meeting) Salford, England.
• 2004 (165th meeting) Exeter, England.
• 2005 (166th meeting) Dublin, Ireland.
• 2006 (167th meeting) Norwich, England.
• 2007 (168th meeting) York, England.
• 2008 (169th meeting) Liverpool, England.
• 2009 (170th meeting) Guildford, England.
• 2010 (171st meeting) Birmingham, England.
• 2011 (172nd meeting) Bradford, England.
• 2012 (173rd meeting) Aberdeen, Scotland.

• 2013 (174th meeting) Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England.
• 2014 (175th meeting) Birmingham, England.
• 2015 (176th meeting) Bradford, England

Home of the BSA on Queen's Gate in South Kensington

Structure

The organisation is administered from the Wellcome Wolfson Building at the Science Museum, London in South Kensington in Kensington and Chelsea, within a few feet of the northern boundary with the City of Westminster (in which most of the neighbouring Imperial College London is resident).

See also

• Café Scientifique
• Guildhall Lectures
• Royal Society
• Royal Institution
• Science Abstracts
• Science Festival
• National Science Week
• Scandinavian Scientist Conference (1839–1936)
• 1860 Oxford evolution debate
• Association of British Science Writers
• American Association for the Advancement of Science

References

1. "About Us". British Science Association. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
2. "Financial history - 212479 - BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE". www.charitycommission.gov.uk. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
3. "Our trustees". British Science Association. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
4. Robert Winston, New Scientist, 3 February 2009.
5. James, Frank A.J.L. (2013). "British Association for the Advancement of Science". In Hessenbruch, Arne. Reader's Guide to the History of Science. Routledge. pp. 106–107.
6. The German organisation was founded in 1822, see Gesellschaft Deutscher Naturforscher und Ärzte (German language Wikipedia article).
7. David Knight, 'Johnston, James Finlay Weir (1796–1855)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004.
8. Caledonian Mercury, 6 October 1831.
9. Preston Chronicle, 8 October 1831.
10. Jackson's Oxford Journal, 23 June 1832.
11. Oxford Chronicle, 7 July 1860.
12. Liverpool Mercury, 5 July 1860.
13. Jackson's Oxford Journal, 4 August 1894.
14. "The Ohm is where the Art is: British Telegraph Engineers and the Development of Electrical Standards" Bruce J. Hunt (1994), Osiris 9: 48 to 63
15. Fleeming Jenkin (1873) Reports of the Committee on Electrical Standards appointed by the British Association for the Advancement of Science, link from HathiTrust.
16. Report of the BA committee on the Analytical Engine of Charles Babbage: "appointed to consider the advisability and to estimate the expense of constructing Mr. Babbage's Analytical Machine, and of printing Tables by its means"..
17. David Gregory (16 September 2010). "'Greatest smell' tests audience". BBC Birmingham. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
18. "British Science Week". British Science Association. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
19. "Table showing the Places and Times of Meeting of the British Association, with Presidents, Vice-Presidents, and Local Secretaries, from its Commencement". Report of the Seventy-sixth Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, held in York in August 1906. London: John Murray. 1907. p. xxxviii.
20. "Table showing the Places and Times of Meeting of the British Association, with Presidents, Vice-Presidents, and Local Secretaries, from its Commencement". Report of the Fifty-third Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, held in Southport in September 1883. London: John Murray. 1884. p. xxx.
21. Report of the twenty-first meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science
22. "Table showing the Places and Times of Meeting of the British Association, with Presidents, Vice-Presidents, and Local Secretaries, from its Commencement". Report of the Thirty-sixth Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, held in Nottingham in August 1866. London: John Murray. 1867. p. xx.
23. "3rd meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
24. "4th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
25. "6th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
26. "7th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
27. "8th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
28. "9th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
29. "10th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
30. "11th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
31. "12th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
32. "13th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
33. "14th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
34. "15th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
35. "30th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
36. "31st meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
37. "32nd meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
38. "33rd meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
39. "34th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
40. "35th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
41. "36th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
42. "37th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
43. "38th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
44. "39th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
45. "40th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
46. "41st meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
47. "42nd meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
48. "43rd meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
49. "44th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
50. "45th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
51. "46th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
52. "47th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
53. "48th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
54. "49th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
55. "50th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
56. "51st meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
57. "52nd meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
58. "53rd meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
59. "54th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
60. "55th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
61. "56th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
62. "57th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
63. "58th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
64. "59th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
65. "60th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
66. "61st meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
67. "62nd meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
68. "63rd meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
69. "64th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
70. "65th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
71. "66th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
72. "67th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
73. "68th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
74. "69th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
75. "70th meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
76. "71st meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
77. "72nd meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
78. "73rd meeting". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
79. "British Association Meeting for 1946". Nature 157: 330. 16 March 1946. doi:10.1038/157330d0.
80. "British Association for the Advancement of Science". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
81. "DAJ V13/2: The Role of Section H at the British Association for the Advancement of Science in the History of Anthropology". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
82. "THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE, LIVERPOOL, 1953" (pdf). Retrieved 30 September 2013.
83. Recent developments in electro-organic synthesis, Manuel M. Baizer, Naturwissenschaften August 1969, Volume 56, Issue 8, pp. 405–409.
84. "THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE: THE EXETER MEETING". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
85. "THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE: ANNUAL MEETING 1972, AT LEICESTER". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
86. "Energy in the balance : some papers from BA79 : papers given at the annual meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, 1979". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
87. "The BA at the end of the 20th Century" (pdf). Retrieved 30 September 2013.

External links

• British Science Association
• British Science Association: Our history
• BHL Digitised Reports 1833–1937
• Reports of the meetings 1877–90 are available on Gallica
• The University of Toronto Archives and Record Management Services holds some papers of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.

Video clips

• British Science Association YouTube channel