The Natural History Society of Montreal, which ran from 1827 to 1928, was the oldest scientific organisation in Canada, and one of the oldest in North America. [1] [2] Its first meeting took place on May 12, 1827. [1] The first chair of the society was Andrew Fernando Holmes. [1] Other notable members were George Barnston and his son James Barnston and the first recorded Canadian clerk of works, John Mactaggart (1791-1830). [1] [3]
The society published a journal, originally titled the Canadian naturalist and quarterly journal of science (1856-1883) and subsequently the Canadian record of science (1884-1916). [4] The society founded a natural history museum, some of whose collections are now stored in the McGill University Herbarium.