Quekett Microscopical Club
 | |
| Named after | John Thomas Quekett |
|---|---|
| Formation | June 14, 1865 |
| Type | Nonprofit |
| Headquarters | London |
| Website | quekett |
The Quekett Microscopical Club is a learned society for the promotion of microscopy. Its members come from all over the world, and include both amateur and professional microscopists. It is a registered charity[1] and not-for-profit publisher, with the stated aims of promoting the understanding and use of the microscope.
History
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The club was founded in 1865[2] as a result of a letter from W. Gibson published in Hardwicke's Science-Gossip in May 1865, which suggested that "some association among the amateur microscopists of London is desirable".[3] At the time, the Microscopical Society of London (later the Royal Microscopical Society) catered mainly to experienced and professional microscopists, and the proposed club was intended to be more welcoming to beginners and amateurs.[3]
The suggestion was taken up by Mordecai Cubitt Cooke, Thomas Ketteringham and Witham Bywater, who met on 14 June 1865 and agreed a provisional committee. About a month after Gibson's letter, a meeting was held at the offices of the publisher Robert Hardwicke, at which the Quekett Microscopical Club was formed.[3]
About sixty people attended the first meeting of the club on Friday 7 July 1865, establishing the club to "give amateurs the opportunity of assisting each other, holding monthly meetings in a central locality, at an annual charge to cover incidental expenses".[2] The word 'club' was chosen instead of 'society' to reflect the aims of the association. The first President was Edwin Lankester. [4]
The club is named after the Victorian microscopist Professor John Thomas Quekett, and is the second oldest organisation in the world dedicated to microscopy, after the Royal Microscopical Society, founded in London in 1839.[4] The club began publishing the Quekett Journal of Microscopy in 1868, and held its first practical classes in 1869.[3][5]
The club remains active, continuing some of the traditions of the club’s Victorian founders, and welcomes anyone with an interest in microscopy, covering all aspects of the subject ranging from the history of the microscope and slide collecting to digital imaging.[3][5]
Presidents
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Past presidents of the club have included:[6]
| President | Term |
|---|---|
| Edwin Lankester | 1865–1866 |
| Peter le Neve Foster | 1869 |
| Lionel Smith Beale | 1870–1871 |
| Robert Braithwaite | 1872–1873 |
| Henry Lee | 1875–1877 |
| Thomas Henry Huxley | 1877–1879 |
| Thomas Spencer Cobbold | 1879–1880 |
| Mordecai Cubitt Cooke | 1881–1883 |
| William Benjamin Carpenter | 1883–1885 |
| William Dallinger | 1889–1892 |
| George Edward Massee | 1899–1903 |
| Edward Alfred Minchin | 1908–1912 |
| Arthur Dendy | 1912–1916 |
| Alfred Barton Rendle | 1916–1921 |
| Sir David Prain | 1924–1926 |
| William Thomas Calman | 1926–1928 |
| John Ramsbottom | 1928–1931 |
| Hamilton Hartridge | 1951–1954 |
Membership
[edit]Members include amateurs, professionals, beginners and experts with an interest in microscopes, microscopy or microscope slides.
Members receive two issues of the Quekett Journal of Microscopy and two issues of the Bulletin of the Quekett Microscopical Club each year.
Members have access to a private area of the club’s website that includes meeting reports, videos of lectures, and galleries of entries from slide and photograph competitions.
Meetings
[edit]The club holds monthly meetings[7] in London for its members, normally in the Natural History Museum, and a few meetings in other parts of the United Kingdom. During the warmer months, the club arranges excursions where members can collect specimens and examine them using their own microscopes. The club holds an annual exhibition in the Natural History Museum each autumn. Reports of meetings are published in the club’s Bulletin and on its website.
Publications
[edit]The club’s publications include the informal Bulletin of the Quekett Microscopical Club (available only to members), the peer-reviewed Quekett Journal of Microscopy[8] which has been published in an unbroken run since 1868, and a range of books.
External links
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "About the register of charities". register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk.
- 1 2 "History of the Quekett Microscopical Club for people interested in microscopes and microscopy".
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Journal of the Quekett Microscopical Club (1868–present)". Constructing Scientific Communities. University of Oxford. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
- 1 2 "History of the RMS". Royal Microscopical Society. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
- 1 2 "An enduring love of the Microscope – The Quekett turns 150". Wiley Analytical Science. John Wiley & Sons. 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
- ↑ Bracegirdle, Brian (2016). The Quekett Microscopical Club 1865-2015. England: Quekett Microscopical Club. ISBN 9780956459121.
- ↑ "Programme of events on microscopes and microscopy – Quekett Microscopical Club".
- ↑ "Quekett Journal of Microscopy – published by the Quekett Microscopical Club".
