Summary: The Annual Review 2024 of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society highlights a year of growth, lively events, and strong community engagement. Membership has increased, more than £12,500 in grants were awarded to support cultural and scientific projects across Leeds, and the programme of lectures and visits ranged from art and literature to science, politics, and cutting-edge research. Alongside new collaborations, including plans with the University of Leeds for 2025, the Society has also acted on member feedback by improving communications.
Summary: The Annual Review 2023 of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society reflects another vibrant year of activity, with a varied programme of lectures, events, and visits exploring science, literature, history, and the arts. Membership grew to nearly 200, and the Society awarded over £12,700 in grants to support cultural, educational, and community projects across Leeds. Highlights included talks on the history of measurement, industrial archaeology, local artists and suffragettes, as well as the popular Science Fair at Leeds Museum. Alongside its events, the Society continued to collaborate closely with Leeds Museums and Galleries, maintained a strong financial position, and invested in improving its communications and digital presence, ensuring it remains a leading forum for learning and debate in the city.
Summary: The Annual Review 2022 of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society highlights a year of renewal and growth, with membership increasing to 188 and a wide-ranging programme of lectures covering science, literature, politics, and the arts. Events included talks on artificial intelligence, the Mars Perseverance Rover, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, colour science, insulin, and Tamoxifen research, alongside cultural and historical subjects from local government to photography. The Society awarded over £5,000 in grants to support community projects, art, theatre, and research, while continuing to strengthen its partnership with Leeds Museums and Galleries. Despite global financial challenges, the Society maintained a stable financial position and invested in its future, reaffirming its role as a key forum for intellectual and cultural life in Leeds.
Summary: The Annual Review 2021 of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society records a year shaped by the challenges of the pandemic, with lectures and events delivered online yet attracting wide audiences both locally and internationally. Membership grew to 156, and the Society awarded over £12,000 in grants, supporting projects in literature, music, art, heritage, and science across Leeds. Highlights of the lecture programme included talks on pigments, artificial intelligence, Covid-19 variants, the Chinese Communist Party, the Mars Perseverance Rover, and cultural restitution of the Benin Bronzes. Despite restrictions, the Society maintained strong links with Leeds Museums and Galleries, safeguarded its finances, and continued its mission of advancing science, literature, and the arts in the city.
Society Events in 2020 Dr Dan Franks The evolution of menopause in resident killer whales Professor Mark Harris Hot Topic: Update on the recent outbreak of a novel Coronavirus: Perspectives on the virus and public health Dr Christine Holdstock History of dyes from Ancient Egypt to Leeds Annual Science Fair in the Leeds City Museum […]
Society Events in 2019 Penny Wainwright The Chas. F. Thackray Company Annual Science Fair in the Leeds City Museum Steven Burt Leeds in 1819 – foundation year of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society Alan Roberts Repairing People – Innovations and Possibilities in Medicine Unveiling the Martin and Synge plaque Kersten Hall “In Praise of […]
Society Events in 2018 Stephen Mobbs Volcanic disruption of air travel: can we do better? Stuart Wrathmell Excavations at Kirkstall Abbey Guest House Annual Science Fair in Leeds City Museum Bob Woosnam-Savage The Killing of Richard III An Evening with the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds, Sir Alan Langlands Alaric Hall Tolkien in Leeds […]
Society Events in 2017 Lucy Moore Women in Leeds 1914-1918 John McGoldrick Armley Mills An evening with Professor Colin Mellors Modernising Local Government The Devolution Agenda Annual Science Fair in Leeds City Museum Patrick Eyres Yorkshire Capabilities Portrayed: Portraits by Georgian artists of the Yorkshire landscapes designed by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown James Lomax Emily Meynell […]
Society Events in 2016 Thomas Dunham Whitaker – his books, his library and his legacy William Sterndale Bennett Fifty active years beyond fifty An evening with Professor John Fisher Science Fair 2016 Treasures of the Brotherton: A Visit to the New Gallery Four Centuries of Natural History Books in the Leeds Library William Astbury – […]
The Louis Le Prince Archive Louis Le Prince and the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society The acquisition of the archive The digitisation of the archive Society Events in 2015 What is life and how did it begin? Firework Displays Leeds’ Forgotten Modernist: John Clifford Proctor An Evening with Timothy Noad, heraldic artist and designer of […]
Legal and Administrative Information Report of the Council Annual Accounts The year’s Finances at a Glance List of Presidents List of Members 2013 – an important Leeds Centenary The Bragg Centenary and the fruition of molecular biology The Birthplace of X-ray Crystallography The University of Leeds Bragg Centenary Lecture –Quasi-periodic materials The Harrison Clock in […]
Reports of Events held during 2012 Can protein-like gels be used to cure back pain? Colonel North the “Nitrate King” The Genius of Michael Faraday The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible Bringing the past to life The Welfare State: Past and Present Female Pharaohs Summer Outing to Standedge Canal Tunnel, Red House and Oakwell […]
Reports of Events held during 2011 Boomerangs The Calendar Phyllis Bentley – Yorkshire Writer Annual Science Fair Sugar Island Biological Approaches to Providing Alternative Energy: Prospects and Problems Stop worrying – radiation is good for you Jazz and all that: rondo à la Meadowcroft John Smeaton, F.R.S. (1724-1792) Summer Visit to Renishaw Hall The Role […]
Reports of Events Swarthmore’s Century: a Leeds experiment in Adult Education 20 Diet and the Prevention of Cancer 21 An Evening with Rachel Feldberg 22 Science Fair 22 The Geological Exhibition in Leeds City Museum 23 Scientific studies of life, disease and death in Ancient Egypt 24 Geoengineering and Global Warming 25 Outing to Newcastle […]
ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE During the 2008-2009 session, the Society continued its recent successes in fulfilling its aims as listed above, including a growing number of artistic and scientific events for members and non-members as detailed below. During the year the Society lost 9 members through resignation or death and welcomed 15 new members, so that […]
Reports of Events Elections on the Hoof 22 Priests, Piles and Parasites 22 Science within Art 23 Bath Houses in Yorkshire 23 Leeds and the Beginnings of Molecular Biology: The Braggs and Astbury 24 Is Home Birth a Realistic Option in the 21st Century? 25 Visit to Sheffield with a Steel Theme 25 An Evening […]
Events The regular monthly events continued to be well supported and were clearly welcomed by those attending. The following events took place: An Evening with Prof. Duncan Dowson, preceded by dinner Pre-Bonfire Night Spectacular (Mike Hoyland) AGM, Dinner and Speaker (Professor John Holman) Furnaces and Fuel: New perspectives on the mediaeval and early modern iron-industry […]
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