Danzig Research Society
Encyclopedia
Already in 1670, the physician Israel Conradi (1634–1715) had tried to organize a scientific society in Danzig, without success yet. Several others tried after him, until the Privatdozent
Privatdozent
Privatdozent or Private lecturer is a title conferred in some European university systems, especially in German-speaking countries, for someone who pursues an academic career and holds all formal qualifications to become a tenured university professor...
Daniel Gralath
Daniel Gralath
Daniel Gralath was a German physicist and Bürgermeister of Danzig.Gralath was born in Danzig in Poland of a well-to-do trade family. He had studied law and philosophy in Halle, then in Leyden and Marburg from 1728 to 1734. Later he became Ratsherr and, in 1763, Bürgermeister of Danzig...
(1708–1767) finally succeeded. His father-in-law was Jacob Theodor Klein
Jacob Theodor Klein
Jacob Theodor Klein nickname Plinius Gedanensium was a Royal Prussian jurist, historian, botanist, mathematician and diplomat in service of Polish King August II the Strong.-Life:...
(1685–1759), a city secretary and also a very distinguished scientist, nicknamed Gedanensium Plinius.
At the end of 1742, Gralath had gathered a group of learned men for his purpose, an Experimental Physics Society (Societas Physicae Experimentalis), one of the oldest research societies in German-speaking parts of Europe. The first organizing meeting took place on 7 November 1742, the first scientific meeting was called on 2 January 1743. The aim of the Society was to practice and popularize science, among others through weekly public demonstrations of the most interesting experiments in physics. Often the effects of electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
were studied, with the help of the Leyden jar
Leyden jar
A Leyden jar, or Leiden jar, is a device that "stores" static electricity between two electrodes on the inside and outside of a jar. It was invented independently by German cleric Ewald Georg von Kleist on 11 October 1745 and by Dutch scientist Pieter van Musschenbroek of Leiden in 1745–1746. The...
. Since 1746 these took place in the Great Hall of the Green Gate building. Gralath also became Ratsherr (councilman) and, in 1763, Bürgermeister (mayor) of Danzig.
Known members were Nathanael Matthaeus von Wolf, Michael Christoph Hanow, Gottfried Lengnich
Gottfried Lengnich
Gottfried Lengnich was a 18th century historian, lawyer and politician. He became known for writing the 9-volume History of Royal Prussia and for teaching Stanisław August Poniatowski, the last king of Poland.- Life :...
, Johann Jacob Mascov, who wrote Geschichte der Teutschen, also Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit and the prince-bishop
Prince-Bishop
A Prince-Bishop is a bishop who is a territorial Prince of the Church on account of one or more secular principalities, usually pre-existent titles of nobility held concurrently with their inherent clerical office...
Adam Stanisław Grabowski of the noble Götzendorff-Grabowski family.
The sessions of the Society were also attended by many famous persons of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
like Great Lithuanian Hetman Michał Kazimierz "Rybeńko" Radziwiłł, August Fryderyk Moszyński, Joachim Chreptowicz
Joachim Chreptowicz
Joachim Chreptowicz , of Odrowąż Coat of Arms, was a Polish-Lithuanian noble, Grand Secretary of Lithuania, marshal of the Lithuanian Tribunal, Deputy and later last Grand Chancellor of Lithuania. Member of the Permanent Council, activist of the Commission of National Education, physiocrat,...
.
In 1840 Alexander von Humboldt
Alexander von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt was a German naturalist and explorer, and the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt...
accompanied Prussian King Frederick William IV on the way to Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
, and Humboldt received an honorary membership in the Society. Later, the society offered Humboldt stipends. The collections of the Society were displayed in the West-Prussian Provincial Museum located at the Green Gate.
In 1845 the society was located in a Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
-era building at the Mottlau (Motława), an arm of the Vistula
Vistula
The Vistula is the longest and the most important river in Poland, at 1,047 km in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is , of which lies within Poland ....
River.
After 200 years of existence, the society ceased to exist when the German citizens of the Free City of Danzig
Free City of Danzig
The Free City of Danzig was a semi-autonomous city-state that existed between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig and surrounding areas....
had to leave. Also, its building and many priceless valuables were destroyed during the Soviet offensive in 1945, two years after the 200th anniversary.
The building at the Motława river was rebuilt after the war. It houses an Archaeological Museum today.