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[[Pencil written at the side]]
At the 50th Anniversary meeting of the Club. first page of the presidential address
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DEVELOPMENT OF THE COSMOS CLUB
By
John C. Hoyt.
[[Underlined]] Objects and Activities

In response to a growing desire among scientific men resident in Washington, D.C., for the establishment of a social club composed of men devoted to or interested in science, professionally or otherwise, the Cosmos Club was organized November 18, 1878, at an informal meeting held at the home of Major John W. Powell, 910 M Street NW. When the by-laws were adopted by the incorporators the scope of the Club was extended to include persons interested in literature as well as science, and later it was broadened to include those interest in art.

Although the original idea of the founders of the Club was to provide for the social needs of its members, soon after its organization the Club recognized that it had the further function of providing for the technical needs of its members and thereby contributing to the advancement of science, literature, and art, and its development has been directed to these purposes. By combining and fostering these purposes and following well-established traditions the Cosmos Club has come to occupy an enviable position among the clubs not only of this country but of the world, and it is recognized as an effective factor in the advancement of the interests which it represents.