This group biography of the X Club follows the nine members from their family and cultural roots, through their early friendships, to their intense lobbying campaigns in the 1860s, and on to their years of scientific power and cultural authority. Although often identified as professionalizers of science, few of their preoccupations fall under this heading, the exception being their concern with developing the infrastructure of scientific research –specialist journalism, specialist libraries, and bibliographies. Their multifaceted ambitions are largely summed up as a shared determination to pro ... More

This group biography of the X Club follows the nine members from their family and cultural roots, through their early friendships, to their intense lobbying campaigns in the 1860s, and on to their years of scientific power and cultural authority. Although often identified as professionalizers of science, few of their preoccupations fall under this heading, the exception being their concern with developing the infrastructure of scientific research –specialist journalism, specialist libraries, and bibliographies. Their multifaceted ambitions are largely summed up as a shared determination to promote the dignity and independence of science and scientific men. They rejected the imprimaturs of aristocratic patronage, theological orthodoxy, and practical utility. Rather, scientific achievement should itself receive cultural and social recognition. More broadly, they sought to change “ways of thinking” and to build a secular culture and society. The quieter members are shown to share the naturalism of the leading publicists; their shared project was to include human life, mind and society with the natural order. The achievements of the conspicuous publicists are shown to depend on the reliable support of the obscure members and of many allies, both within and outside science. Thus, the rich material on the nine members enables this microhistory of the X Club to become a macrohistory of the operation of Victorian scientific societies and the place of science in Victorian culture, and heroic modes of interpretation, which attribute foresight and power to a few individuals, are countered.