The Batavian Society for Experimental Philosophy is a Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 learned society

Learned society

A learned society is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline/profession, as well a 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,...

 residing in Rotterdam

Rotterdam

Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...

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The society was founded on June 3, 1769 after Steven Hoogendijk

Steven Hoogendijk

Steven Hoogendijk was a Rotterdam watch and instrument maker and physicist. His portrait to the right, shows him pointing to an early pyrometer from Pieter van Musschenbroeck with pumps in the background...

 declared in his last will that after his death a foundation for the furtherance of experimental philosophy (a term now called 'Science') would inherit his fortune. His fortune would be more than sufficient to secure the foundation's financial future for a long time.

The Society suffered during the French occupation of the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 in the late 18th and early 19th century. In 1917, a major part of the Society's capital was lost during the Russian Revolution as the Russian bond

Bond (finance)

In finance, a bond is a debt security, in which the authorized issuer owes the holders a debt and, depending on the terms of the bond, is obliged to pay interest to use and/or to repay the principal at a later date, termed maturity...

s owned by the Society became worthless. The Batavian Society suffered an even heavier blow during the bombardment of Rotterdam in May 1940, when essentially all archival material and historic artifacts were lost.

Currently, the Society, with around 400 members, is a forum for scientists living in the vicinity of Rotterdam. Six scientific meetings per annum, mostly dedicated to medicine

Medicine

Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....

 and engineering

Engineering

Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...

sciences, are held plus a one-day convention, where the Steven Hoogendijk Premiums are awarded to young scientists.