The National Academy of Sciences is the third oldest American institution, being established after the Smithsonian Institute and the American Association for the Promotion of Science. The Academy dates back to 1863, right in the midst of the American Civil War. Fortunately for the time, the Academy was vital to the development of the war in favor of the Union through its establishment of much needed scientific advancements and insight tantamount to those of the academies in Great Britain and the rest of Europe despite the involvement of science's most primary men. Since then, the Academy has served as a scientific adviser to the government, an adviser greatly appreciated by the government. The Academy's recommendations have been adopted, its findings accepted, and its investigations used to better advance the nation as a whole.

A History of the First Half-Century of the National Academy of Sciences: 1863-1913 (1913) illustrates the Academy's history from its creation to the appointment of Woodrow Wilson as president. The book features a detailed look into the founding and forming of the Academy; the annals of the academy including the classifications of membership in 1892; lists of those involved with the Academy including officers and foreign associates; the Academy's publications, and more.

Contents

• COMMITTEE ON THE PREPARATION OF THE SEMI-CENTENNIAL VOLUME
• PREFACE
• ERRATUM
• CHAPTER I. THE FOUNDING OF THE ACADEMY
• CHAPTER II. THE ANNALS OF THE ACADEMY
  • 1863–1867
  • 1868–1872
  • 1873–1877
  • 1878–1882
  • 1883–1887
  • 1888–1892
  • 1893–1897
  • 1898–1902
  • 1903–1907
  • 1908–1912
• CHAPTER III. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF THE INCORPORATORS
  • LOUIS AGASSIZ
  • JOHN H.ALEXANDER
  • STEPHEN ALEXANDER
  • ALEXANDER DALLAS BACHE
  • FREDERICK AUGUSTUS PORTER BARNARD
  • JOHN GROSS BARNARD
  • WILLIAM HOLMES CHAMBERS BARTLETT
  • ALEXIS CASWELL
  • WILLIAM CHAUVENET
  • JOHN HUNTINGTON CRANE COFFIN
  • JOHN ADOLPHUS BERNHARD DAHLGREN
  • JAMES DWIGHT DANA
  • CHARLES HENRY DAVIS
  • GEORGE ENGELMANN
  • JOHN FRIES FRAZER
  • WOLCOTT GIBBS
  • JAMES MELVILLE GILLISS
  • AUGUSTUS ADDISON GOULD
  • BENJAMIN APTHORP GOULD
  • ASA GRAY
  • ARNOLD GUYOT
  • JAMES HALL
  • JOSEPH HENRY
  • JULIUS ERASMUS HILGARD
  • EDWARD HITCHCOCK
  • JOSEPH STILLMAN HUBBARD
  • ANDREW ATKINSON HUMPHREYS
  • JOHN LAWRENCE LECONTE
  • JOSEPH LEIDY
  • J.PETER LESLEY
  • MIERS FISHER LONGSTRETH
  • DENNIS HART MAHAN
  • JOHN STRONG NEWBERRY
  • HUBERT ANSON NEWTON
  • BENJAMIN PEIRCE
  • JOHN RODGERS
  • FAIRMAN ROGERS
  • ROBERT EMPIE ROGERS
  • WILLIAM BARTON ROGERS
  • LEWIS MORRIS RUTHERFURD
  • JOSEPH SAXTON
  • BENJAMIN SILLIMAN, SENIOR
  • BENJAMIN SILLIMAN, JUNIOR
  • THEODORE STRONG
  • JOHN TORREY
  • JOSEPH GILBERT TOTTEN
  • JOSIAH DWIGHT WHITNEY
  • JOSEPH WINLOCK
  • JEFFRIES WYMAN
• CHAPTER IV. THE ACADEMY AS THE SCIENTIFIC ADVISER OF THE GOVERNMENT
  • COMMITTEES APPOINTED BY THE ACADEMY ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT
  • COMMITTEE ON WEIGHTS, MEASURES, AND COINAGE. 1863
  • COMMITTEE ON PROTECTING THE BOTTOMS OF IRON VESSELS. 1863
  • COMMITTEE ON MAGNETIC DEVIATION IN IRON SHIPS. 1863
  • COMMITTEE ON SAXTON'S ALCOHOLOMETER. 1863
  • COMMITTEE ON WIND AND CURRENT CHARTS AND SAILING DIRECTIONS. 1863
  • COMMITTEE ON THE QUESTION OF TESTS FOR THE PURITY OF WHISKEY. 1864
  • COMMITTEE ON EXPERIMENTS ON THE EXPANSION OF STEAM. 1864
  • A COMMITTEE ON MATERIALS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF CENT COINS. 1864
  • COMMITTEE ON THE EXPLOSION ON THE UNITED STATES STEAMER CHENANGO. 1864
  • COMMITTEE ON GALVANIC ACTION FROM ASSOCIATION OF ZINC AND IRON. 1867
  • COMMITTEE ON PROVING AND GAUGING DISTILLED SPIRITS AND PREVENTING FRAUD. 1866
  • COMMITTEE ON THE IMPROVEMENT OF GREYTOWN HARBOR, NICARAGUA. 1866
  • COMMITTEE ON THE PROTECTION OF COAL MINES FROM EXPLOSION BY MEANS OF ELECTRICITY. 1870
  • COMMITTEE ON THE EFFECT OF CHEMICALS ON INTERNAL REVENUE STAMPS. 1870
  • COMMITTEE ON THE TRANSIT OF VENUS. 1871 AND 1881
  • COMMITTEE ON WATER-PROOFING THE FRACTIONAL CURRENCY. 1875
  • COMMITTEES ON THE ARTIFICIAL COLORING OF SUGARS, ON THE USE OF THE POLARISCOPE TO DETERMINE THE VALUE OF SUGARS, AND ON DEMARARA SUGARS. 1876–1878
  • COMMITTEE ON PROPOSED CHANGES IN THE AMERICAN EPHEMERIS. 1877
  • COMMITTEE ON A PLAN FOR SURVEYING AND MAPPING THE TERRITORIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 1878
  • COMMITTEES ON THE RESTORATION OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 1880 AND 1903
  • COMMITTEE ON SORGHUM SUGAR. 1881
  • COMMITTEE ON QUESTIONS OF METEOROLOGICAL SCIENCE AND ITS APPLICATIONS. 1881
  • COMMITTEE ON THE SEPARATION OF METHYL, OR WOOD SPIRITS, FROM ETHYL ALCOHOL. 1882
  • COMMITTEE ON GLUCOSE. 1882
  • COMMITTEE ON THE SIGNAL SERVICE OF THE ARMY, THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, THE COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY, AND THE HYDROGRAPHIC OFFICE OF THE NAVY DEPARTMENT. 1884
  • COMMITTEE ON PHILOSOPHICAL AND SCIENTIFIC APPARATUS. 1884
  • COMMITTEE ON THE ASTRONOMICAL DAY, THE SOLAR ECLIPSE OF AUGUST, 1886, AND THE ERECTION OF A NEW NAVAL OBSERVATORY. 1885
  • COMMITTEE ON THE TARIFF CLASSIFICATION OF WOOLS. 1885
  • COMMITTEE ON QUARTZ PLATES USED IN SACCHARIMETERS FOR SUGAR DETERMINATIONS. 1887
  • COMMITTEES ON THE MORPHINE CONTENT OF OPIUM. 1886 AND 1887
  • COMMITTEE TO FORMULATE A PLAN FOR A SYSTEMATIC SEARCH FOR THE MAGNETIC NORTH POLE. 1890
  • COMMITTEE TO PRESCRIBE AND PUBLISH SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THE DEFINITIONS OF THE AMPERE AND VOLT. 1894
  • COMMITTEE ON THE INAUGURATION OF A RATIONAL FOREST POLICY FOR THE FORESTED LANDS OF THE UNITED STATES. 1896
  • COMMITTEE ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A NATIONAL RESERVE IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 1902
  • COMMITTEE ON SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATIONS OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 1902
  • COMMITTEE ON THE METHODS AND EXPENSES OF CONDUCTING SCIENTIFIC WORK UNDER THE GOVERNMENT. 1908
• APPENDICES
  • APPENDIX I LIST OF OFFICERS
  • APPENDIX II LIST OF MEMBERS AND FOREIGN ASSOCIATES
  • APPENDIX III LIST OF MEDALISTS
  • APPENDIX IV LIST OF REPORTS OF COMMITTEES APPOINTED ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT
  • APPENDIX V ACT OF INCORPORATION, CONSTITUTION, AMENDMENTS AND RULES
  • APPENDIX VI TEXT OF BEQUESTS AND TRUSTS
  • APPENDIX VII LIST OF PUBLICATIONS
  • APPENDIX VIII LIST OF MEETINGS