The Lunar Society

During the Enlightenment there was a change in professions of the men who influenced people; instead of the authority of the church; with priests; men who interpreted the bible, 'thinkers' and practical men became paramount. A group of such men formed through the prevalent coffee house culture, including James Watt, inventor of the steam engine, Josiah Wedgewood, the potter, William Herscel, an astronomer, and Benjamin Franklin, pioneer of the science of electricity and founding father of the American Republic. They were also joined by Erasmus Darwin, poet, evolutionist and physician, who, it is rumored, is said to have had a semi circle cut out of the table at which he sat with these friends, to comfortably fit his large bulk, without the discomfort of being unable to draw up to the table to talk because of his stomach. Grandfather of Charles Darwin, during his life over two hundred years ago, he planned to tow icebergs to the equator to control the global climate.

Back to the men; formed in Birmingham, the group would meet once a month, on full moon, and christened themselves 'The Lunar Society'. This was not however down to any pagan tradition, rather a more practical solution; the presence of the full moon, if out, would hopefully cast more light in the darkness, allowing them to ride home in comparative safety after their meeting; in slight intoxication they were more likely to see the pitfalls in their road, and avoid an accident! They nicknamed themselves the 'lunaticks': a pun on the work lunatic.