A Glorious Enterprise: The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia and the Making of American Science

by Robert McCracken Peck

Book Overview

Founded in 1812, the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia stands today as the oldest natural history museum in the Western hemisphere. Early expeditions organized at the Academy were of central importance to the exploration of America's western wilderness, and the plant and animal specimens that were brought back formed the foundation of a collection that today contains some eighteen million items. What began as a small gathering of devoted...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0812243803
• ISBN13: 9780812243802
• Release Date: March 2012
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 6.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.8" x 10.0" x 12.3"