Dome

Digitized materials in this online collection form part of the MIT Society of Arts records in the MIT Libraries Department of Distinctive Collections. For more information about the materials, please consult the collection finding aid.

Collection scope and contents:
The Society of Arts of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was formed in 1862. It consisted of seventeen people who met to read the 1861 Act of Incorporation of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and enact the first by-laws of the Institute. The Society was to be one component of MIT, the others being a school and a museum. Between 1862 and 1865, however, the Society of Arts was the only element of Massachusetts Institute of Technology extant. Meetings consisted of discussions of Institute business followed by a lecture on a scientific or technical topic. After the school opened in 1865, and the Society was no longer responsible for governing the Institute, its meetings focused on lectures on a wide range of subjects and demonstrations of inventions. Records in the collection include the minutes of meetings of the Society, which include the reports of the Executive Committee and officers, and abstracts or transcripts of lectures, demonstrations, and exhibits presented before the Society.

Dates:
1862-1941; majority of material found within 1863 – 1908

Please note:
Materials in this collection may be under copyright. Please consult the collection finding aid or catalog record and the MIT Libraries Permissions Policy for more information.

Citation:
Please cite the source item title (dc.title), collection title and identifier, and repository.

Example: Correspondence, 1904-1906. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Society of Arts records (AC-0011). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Libraries. Department of Distinctive Collections.

Repository details:
Part of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Libraries. Department of Distinctive Collections Repository https://libraries.mit.edu/distinctive-collections