Historical society

A historical society is a organization dedicated to preserving, collecting, researching, and interpreting historical information or items. Originally, these societies were created as a way to help future generations understand their heritage.

Historical societies vary in specialization, with focuses ranging from specific geographical areas such as countries or towns, universities, railways, ethnic and religious groups, to genealogy, pioneer history, and the preservation of antiques or historic buildings.

Often, many of these organizations ensure that historic architecture is preserved/restored and period houses are maintained for tours open to the public. (See: Historic preservation)

History

It is said that historical societies originated in Western Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries. These early organizations were usually formed as societies for “lovers of Antiquity.”

The oldest historical society in the United Sates is what we now call the Massachusetts Historical Society, which was founded in 1791 by Jeremy Belknap. He was joined by nine other Bostonians who helped him create "The Historical Society," an organization truly devoted to collecting materials for the study of American history. This like-minded group gathered family papers, books, and artifacts from their personal collections which led to the creation of the nation's first historical repository. Due to the absence of any other American historical repositories during this time, the MHS took on a national role - Something that is still evident in its collections and publications. To this day, Belknap's original vision of preserving, collecting, making resources accessible, and communicating manuscripts that promote the study of Massachusetts as well as the nation is still thriving.

Royal Historical Society

The Royal Historical Society (abbr. RHistS; founded 1868) is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history.

The society was founded and received its Royal Charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Historical Society. In 1897, it merged with (or absorbed) the Camden Society, founded in 1838. It is now based at University College London.

Present

In its origins, and for many years afterwards, the society was effectively a gentlemen's club. It now exists to promote historical research worldwide, representing historians engaged in professional research and presenting history in the public domain.

The society provides a varied programme of lectures and one-day and two-day conferences covering various kinds of historical issues. It convenes in London and from time to time elsewhere throughout the United Kingdom.

The society's membership comprises honorary vice-presidents (management), fellows (entitled to use FRHistS or formerly F.R.Hist.Soc. as post-noms), corresponding fellows, members and associates. Its archives at Senate House include many records of international as well as British history. The society encourages, promotes and sponsors (by way of grants) historical research, academic or otherwise. Publications include its monographic series Studies in History, its annual Transactions (first published as Transactions of the Historical Society, 1872, and the Camden Series of editions and translations of texts; as well as digital publications, such as the Bibliography of British and Irish History.

Society

A society is a group of people involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societies are characterized by patterns of relationships (social relations) between individuals who share a distinctive culture and institutions; a given society may be described as the sum total of such relationships among its constituent members. In the social sciences, a larger society often evinces stratification or dominance patterns in subgroups.

Insofar as it is collaborative, a society can enable its members to benefit in ways that would not otherwise be possible on an individual basis; both individual and social (common) benefits can thus be distinguished, or in many cases found to overlap.

A society can also consist of like-minded people governed by their own norms and values within a dominant, larger society. This is sometimes referred to as a subculture, a term used extensively within criminology.

Society (disambiguation)

Society is a grouping of individuals which are united by a network of social relations, traditions and may have distinctive culture and institutions.

Society may also refer to:

See also

Society (play)

Society was an 1865 comedy drama by Thomas William Robertson regarded as a milestone in Victorian drama because of its realism in sets, costume, acting and dialogue. Unusually for that time, Robertson both wrote and directed the play, and his innovative writing and stage direction inspired George Bernard Shaw and W. S. Gilbert.

Origins

The play originally ran at the Prince of Wales's Theatre, Liverpool, under the management of Mr A. Henderson, opening on 8 May 1865. It was recommended to Effie Wilton, the manager of the Prince of Wales's Theatre in London's West End, by H. J. Byron, where it ran from 11 November 1865 to 4 May 1866 Robertson found fame with his new comedy, which included a scene that fictionalized the Fun gang, who frequented the Arundel Club, the Savage Club, and especially Evans's café, where they had a table in competition with the Punch 'Round table'. The play marked the London debut of Squire Bancroft, who went on to marry Effie Wilton in 1867 and become her co-manager.