American Antiquarian Society

, founder of the American Antiquarian Society On the initiative of Isaiah Thomas, the AAS was founded on October 24, 1812, through an act of the Massachusetts General Court. It was the third historical society established in America, and the first to be national in its scope. The first library building was erected in 1820 in downtown Worcester, Massachusetts. In 1853, the Society moved its collections to a larger building at the corner of Highland Street, also in Worcester. This building was later abandoned and another new building was constructed. Designed by Winslow, Bigelow & Wadsworth, the Georgian Revival building was completed in 1910 and stands on the corner of Park Avenue and Salisbury Street. There have been several additions to this building to accommodate the growing collection. The most recent addition was completed in 2019 and created room for an updated HVAC system, conservation lab, and multi-use learning lab. AAS was presented with the 2013 National Humanities Medal by President Obama in a ceremony at the White House. ==History of printing==

As part of AAS's mission as a learned society, it offers a variety of public lectures and seminars. One topic to which AAS dedicates significant academic energies is printing technology, especially in 18th century British North America. Since Isaiah Thomas was a newspaper man himself, he collected a large number of printed materials. With regard to printing, paper making, edition setting, and reprinting, not much had changed in European technology by the eighteenth century. It was not until the late eighteenth century that paper-making material began to evolve from a hand-woven cloth to an industrial pulp. AAS undertakes special efforts to preserve printed records from this time period, as the Society maintains an on-site conservation department with various sewing, cloth, and binding materials to aid in the preservation process. == Past leaders ==

Over its two-hundred-year history, the Society has had 14 formal leaders who have shaped the organization's vision, collections, and day-to-day operations. Leadership roles at the AAS have historically overlapped in chronology, as different roles oversaw different aspects of the Society simultaneously. ==Notable members==

The American Antiquarian Society's membership includes scholars, writers, journalists, historians, artists, filmmakers, collectors, American presidents, and civic leaders. Notable members include the following individuals: • Benjamin Abbot • John Adams • John Quincy Adams • Herman Vandenburg Ames • Roald Amundsen • Edward M. Augustus Jr. • George Bancroft • Alexander Graham Bell • Ned Blackhawk • Ken Burns • Jimmy Carter • Bruce Catton • Harriette L. Chandler • Ron Chernow • Bill Clinton • Calvin Coolidge • Walter Cronkite • Robert Darnton • Charles Devens • Theodore Frelinghuysen Dwight • Edward Eggleston • Drew Gilpin Faust • Moses Fisk • Esther Forbes • Henry Louis Gates • Doris Kearns Goodwin • Annette Gordon-Reed • Amanda Gorman • Samuel Swett Green • Ferdinand Rudolph Hassler • Rutherford B. Hayes • Washington Irving • Andrew Jackson • John Jay • Thomas Jefferson • Tobias Lear • Jill Lepore • David McCullough • Larry McMurtry • James Madison • Othniel Charles Marsh • James Monroe • Pedro II of Brazil • Nathaniel Philbrick • Dorothy B. Porter • John Wesley Powell • Carl Christian Rafn • Franklin Pierce Rice • Franklin D. Roosevelt • Theodore Roosevelt • George Dudley Seymour • James H. Salisbury • Thomas Winthrop Streeter Sr. • William H. Taft • Frederick Jackson Turner • Bushrod Washington • Woodrow Wilson • Gordon S. Wood ==Awards==

AAS was presented with the 2013 National Humanities Medal by President Obama in a ceremony at the White House. ==See also==