Birmingham Natural History Society

'' designed by Worthington Smith, who described the design in the first issue. |alt=lithographed design as described in detail by cited source The Society was founded in 1858. In 1877, the Society played the lead in forming the Union of Midland Natural History Societies, which published the journal The Midland Naturalist. Some of the societies in the union later merged with the Birmingham Natural History Society. The Birmingham Philosophical Society, founded in 1876, merged in 1894, when the title of the Society was changed to the Birmingham Natural History and Philosophical Society. The Midland Malacological Society and the Birmingham Entomological Society were amalgamated in 1906 and 1908 respectively. The society's activities were greatly reduced by world war one but activity had picked up again by 1920. In 1924 the society carried out an extensive survey of Hartlebury Common. The Society rooms suffered bomb damage on October 25, 1940 and as a result the society suspended its activities for the remainder of hostilities. The society began to meet again in 1945 and restarted publication of its proceedings in 1950. The most recent title of the Society was first used in its Proceedings in 1964. Important early members of the society included the botanist James Eustace Bagnall (1830-1918), who produced the first Flora of Sutton Park From March 2020 onwards, there were no meetings because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2022, an extraordinary general meeting was held, at which it was agreed to dissolve the society, and divide its financial assets between the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust and the Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust. ==Activities==

The society was responsible for the designation of Edgbaston Pool as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and until 2012 was formally involved in its management. the journal appeared in four parts to a volume; parts have appeared at different intervals over time, e.g. each part of Volume 15 covered two calendar years whereas each part of Volume 29 covered three. Volume 30 Part 2 was published in 2020 prior to the dissolution of the society, covering 2018–2020. ==Publications==

Works published by the society include: • Proceedings of the Birmingham Natural History Society (formerly Proceedings of the Birmingham Natural History and Microscopical Society, Proceedings of the Birmingham Natural History and Philosophical Society); most recently published every three years (ISSN 0144-1477) • The Fauna of the Midland Plateau, published in three volumes between 1910 and 1913: Volume 1 Mycetozoa, by W.B. Grove; Volume 2 Preliminary list of Thysanura and Collembola, by W.E. Collinge; Volume 3 Introduction to the Fauna of the Midland Plateau, by P.E. Martineau • A Computer Mapped Flora by D. A. Cadbury, J. G. Hawkes and R. C. Readett, 1971 – a study of the flora of Vice-County 38, Warwickshire, published in conjunction with the University of Birmingham • A Fungus Flora of Warwickshire edited by M.C.Clark, 1980, published in conjunction with the University of Birmingham and the British Mycological Society • Lepidoptera of the Midland (Birmingham) Plateau, published in Proceedings of the Birmingham Natural History Society 26(3-4), 1992/93 == Presidents ==

Notable past presidents of the society include: • Samuel Allport (1868) • Edmond W. Carlier (1910–1911, 1923, 1931–1932) • Robert William Chase (1885-1886, 1899, 1905-1907) • John H. Fremlin (1972–1973) • William Bywater Grove (1888–1889) • Jack G. Hawkes (1963–1964, 1986–1987) • John Henry Poynting (1897–1898) • Lawson Tait (1876) • George Stephen West (1913) == See also ==