During this historic week when we celebrate our nation's birthday, we'll be bringing you Franklin Facts from the American Philosophical Society, this country's first scholarly organization. The APS, as it's called, was founded in Philadelphia in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin, and it's still headquartered just around the corner from Independence Hall.

Franklin's influence guided the APS in its early years. The Society pursued "...experiments that let light into the nature of things, tend to increase the power of man over matter, and multiply the conveniencies of life." Many doctors, clergymen, and merchants interested in science were members, as were learned tradesmen like Franklin and many founders of the republic such as Washington and Jefferson.

The status of the APS as an internationally-renowned scholarly organization is reflected in its membership over the years, including Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, and Robert Frost. In the last century, more than 200 APS members received the Nobel Prize. And today, with members such as physicist Steven Hawking, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, author Toni Morrison, former president Jimmy Carter, and conductor Ricardo Muti, the APS continues to promote useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities.