Information Science in the 18th Century

INFORMATION SCIENCE
IN THE 18TH CENTURY

1736

Academie de Chirurgia (Paris) publishes Memoires pour les Chirurgiens, generally considered to be the first medical journal.

1743

The American Philosophical Society, patterned on the Royal Society (London), is founded in Philadelphia. This is the first US scientific society.

1761

Academie des Sciences (Paris) begins publication of Descriptions des Arts et Metiers, which consists of collections of descriptions of various arts and sciences of the times. Approximately 100 monographs are published between 1761 and 1789.

1778

Chemisches Journal, thought to be the first chemical journal, is established by Lorenz von Crell. Published 1778-84, subsequently renamed Chemische Annalen and published 1784-1803. It already included some abstracts (Skolnik, "Milestones," 1976).

1787

William Curtis (England) begins publication of his Botanical Magazine.
Méthode de Nomenclature Chimique, by Louis Bernard Guyton de Morveau, Antoine Laurent Lavoisier, Claude Louis Berthollet, and Antoine François de Fourcroy, is published in Paris. Created from Greek and Latin roots, the nomenclature system represents what Lavoisier's followers understand about the composition of hundreds of substances.

1789

Antoine Laurent Lavoisier, Louis Bernard, Guyton de Moreau, Claude Louis Berthollet, and Antoin François de Fourcroy establish the Annales de chimie.
Short-lived Chemical Society of Philadelphia is founded and subsequently publishes its transactions

1796

Alois Senefelder (Germany) develops the concept of lithography for use in mass printing work.

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