Notable Members

Notable NES Members

Since the Society’s founding in 1805, NES Members have included notable individuals from law, politics, finance, industry, journalism, education, the arts and philanthropy. Distinguished Members are added to the roster on a regular basis; please check back soon for updates.

NES continues to research its historic beginnings using a variety of primary and secondary sources located in the NES office, the New York Public Library, and the New York Historical Society, and strives for accuracy on this page and the rest of the NES website. Please e-mail the Society office at nes@nesnyc.org or call (212) 752-1938 with corrections, questions, or ideas for additions to this list.

Amos Tappan Akerman

February 23, 1821 – December 21, 1880

U.S. Attorney General under President Ulysses S. Grant
Honorary Member
Admitted:1877

Daniel Appleton

December 10, 1785 – March 27, 1849

Founder of the publishing house D.A. Appleton & Co.
Regular Member
Admitted:1843

William H. Appleton

January 27, 1814 – October 19, 1899

Publisher who was active in the struggle for international copyright laws, and president of the American Copyright League.
Life Member
Admitted:1856

Chester A. Arthur

October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886

21st President of the United States.
Honorary Member
Admitted:1866
Photograph of Chester Alan Arthur, the 21st President of the United States.

William H. Aspinwall

December 16, 1807 – January 18, 1875

Founded the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. Established the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Founder of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Honorary Member
Admitted:1868
Photograph of William Henry Aspinwall, an American businessman and a partner in the firm Howland & Aspinwall.

Irving Bacheller

September 26, 1859 -February 24, 1950

Journalist, editor and writer who founded the first modern newspaper syndicate in the United States. Served as a war correspondent in France during WWI. (45th NES President)
Regular Member
Admitted:1906
Photograph of Irving Bacheller, an American author and journalist.

Leonard Bacon

February 19, 1802 – December 24, 1881

Editor of the Christian Spectator. Helped to found the New Englander (later the Yale Review) and the Independent.
Honorary Member
Admitted:1870

George Bancroft

October 3, 1800 – January 17, 1891

Historian and U.S. Secretary of the Navy. Established the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1845. Founding member and first President of the American Geographical Society.
Honorary Member
Admitted:1866
Photograph of George Bancroft, an American historian, statesman, and co-founder of the United States Naval Academy.

Frederick A.P. Barnard

May 5, 1809 – April 27, 1889

Tenth President of Columbia College and advocate for women’s education. Barnard College is named for him.
Honorary Member
Admitted:1870
Illustration of Frederick Augustus Porter Barnard, an American scientist, mathematician, and educator, and president of Columbia University.

Alfred Smith Barnes

January 28, 1817 – February 17, 1888

Philanthropist and a major benefactor of Cornell University. His company, A.S. Barnes & Co., was leading publisher of textbooks.
Life Member
Admitted:1864
Photograph of Alfred Smith Barnes, an American publisher and founder of A.S. Barnes & Co.

Lyman Beecher

October 12, 1775 – January 10, 1863

Minister and founder of the American Temperance Society. Father of Harriet Beecher Stowe and Henry Ward Beecher.
Regular Member
Admitted:1835
Photograph of Lyman Beecher, an American Presbyterian minister and father of Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Henry Whitney Bellows

June 11, 1814 – January 30, 1882

Clergyman, planner and president of the U.S. Sanitary Commission. Organizer of the Union League Club of New York and the Century Association, and assisted with the planning and establishment of Cooper Union.
Honorary Member
Admitted:1870
Photograph of Henry Whitney Bellows, an American clergyman and reformer.

Cornelius Newton Bliss

January 26, 1833 – October 9, 1911

Merchant, politician and art collector. U.S. Secretary of the Interior and as Treasurer of the Republican National Convention in four successive campaigns. Invited to serve as William McKinley’s Vice-President, but refused, and Teddy Roosevelt was subsequently chosen. A year later, McKinley was assassinated and Roosevelt became President. 25th NES President.
Regular Member
Admitted:1869
Photograph of Cornelius Newton Bliss, an American merchant and politician who served as Secretary of the Interior.

William T. Blodgett

February 18, 1824 – November 4, 1875

Art collector and trustee and founder of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Regular Member
Admitted:1864
Photograph of William Tilden Blodgett, an American businessman and art collector.

John Bright

November 16, 1811 – March 27, 1889

Orator, Quaker, British Radical and Liberal statesman. Served in the House of Commons from 1843-1889.
Honorary Member
Admitted:1877
Illustration of John Bright, a British Radical and Liberal statesman, one of the greatest orators of his generation.

Henry Sands Brooks

September 8, 1772 – December 21, 1833

Founder of Brooks Brothers, the men’s clothing store, which was known for introducing ready-to-wear suits to U.S. customers and designing uniforms for elite regiments of the New York National Guard and New York State troops during the Civil War.
Founding Member
Admitted:1805

W.C. Bryant, Esq.

November 3, 1794 – June 12, 1878

Poet and editor of the New York Evening Post. Led the movement to establish Central Park. Bryant Park is named for him.
Honorary Member
Admitted:1829
Photograph of William Cullen Bryant, an American poet, journalist, and editor of the New York Evening Post.

Joseph Hodges Choate

January 24, 1832 – May 14, 1917

Lawyer and diplomat. President of the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association and the New York City Bar Association. U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom. 15th NES President.
Regular Member
Admitted:1856
Photograph of Joseph Hodges Choate, an American lawyer and diplomat who served as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom.

Lewis Gaylord Clark

October 5, 1808 – November 3, 1873

Editor and publisher of The Knickerbocker magazine.
Life Member
Admitted:1852
Illustration of Lewis Gaylord Clark, an American editor and author.

Grover Cleveland

March 18, 1837 – June 24, 1908

Twenty-second and 24th President of the United States. Governor of New York.
Honorary Member
Admitted:1885
Photograph of Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th President of the United States.

Calvin Coolidge

July 4, 1872 – January 5, 1933

Governor of the State of Massachusetts, and 30th President of the United States.
Honorary Member
Admitted:1922
Photograph of Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President of the United States.

Elliot C. Cowdin

August 9, 1819 – April 12, 1880

President of the Mercantile Library Association of Boston; Officer of the New York Chamber of Commerce; United States Commissioner to the Exposition in Paris in 1867. NES President, 1871.
Regular Member
Admitted:Unknown
Illustration of Elliot Cowdin, an American businessman, politician, and Union Army general.

Charles Dana

August 8, 1819 – October 17, 1897

Journalist, and owner and editor of the New York Sun.
Regular Member
Admitted:1858
Photograph of Charles Anderson Dana, an American journalist, author, and Assistant Secretary of War.

Chauncey Depew

April 23, 1834 – April 5, 1928

Attorney for Cornelius Vanderbilt, President of the New York Central Railroad System, and U.S. Senator from New York (1899 to 1911).
Honorary Member
Admitted:1892
Photograph of Chauncey Mitchell Depew, an American politician, lawyer, and orator.

Major John A. Dix

July 24, 1798 – April 24, 1879

Secretary of the Treasury, U.S. Senator, and the 24th Governor of New York. Union major general during the Civil War.
Honorary Member
Admitted:1864
Photograph of John Adams Dix, an American politician, Union Army general, and Secretary of the Treasury.

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