Isaac Bartram (40)

Isaac Bartram (17 November 1725–c. 22 June 1801) was a chemist, apothecary, and naturalist and a member of the Young Junto, elected in 1759. Born outside Philadelphia on the farm of his father, APS founding member John Bartram, Isaac ran an apothecary shop with his half-brother and fellow Young Junto member Moses Bartram; the shop also employed renowned surgeon and APS member James Hutchinson as an apprentice. The Bartram brothers signed the 1765 Non-Importation Agreement and later parted company amicably to establish independent shops. At the meetings of the Young Junto, Isaac submitted queries concerning electricity and the creation of a more sustainable timber supply in the region. He also presented papers on botany and conducted experiments to distill liquor from persimmons as a substitute for Caribbean rum. He is credited with proposing the creation of a class of foreign elected members to increase the society’s prestige. He served on committees that oversaw the unification of the American Society and American Philosophical Society, produced the first volume of the APS Transactions, and sought to augment the Society’s collections. He was also an early manager of the Silk Society, a director of the Library Company, an elected member of the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture, and a contributor to the Philadelphia Dispensary and Pennsylvania Hospital. In addition to his father and his brother Moses, another half-brother, William Bartram, was a member of the American Society. (PI)