Newcomen Society of the United States
The Newcomen Society of the United States was a non-profit educational foundation for "the study and recognition of achievement in American business and the society it serves." It was responsible for more than 1,600 individual histories of organizations, from corporations to colleges, which were distributed to libraries and its membership. In 2007, the chairman and trustees announced the society's closure. English origins. It was patterned after the Newcomen Society of Great Britain, founded in London in 1920, a learned society formed to foster the study of the history of engineering and technology . Both groups took their name from Thomas Newcomen (1663-1729), the British industrial pioneer whose invention of the atmospheric steam engine in 1712 led to the first practical use of such a device—lifting water out of mines. Newcomen's invention helped facilitate the birth of the Industrial Revolution. He is frequently referred to as the "Father of the Industrial Revolution." The Newcomen Society in North America. The Newcomen Society of the United States began as The Newcomen Society in North America, founded at New York City in 1923 by Leonor F. Loree, then dean of American railroad presidents, together  with a group of other prominent business leaders. The original members were nominated from leaders in business, industry, education, the military and other professions. Its declaration of purpose was to: In the late 1940s, Penrose built the society's headquarters on Newcomen Road in rural Exton, Pennsylvania, complete with a 2,700 volume library and museum featuring a range of antique model steam engines operated by hand-cranking or electricity. Beside a chapel stood a belltower which played a carillon. Designed by the Philadelphia architect Briton Martin (1899-1983), the campus had offices, guest houses and a printing shop for Newcomen  Publications, Inc., which Penrose founded to produce the society's corporate and academic histories, distinctive booklets illustrated with a mix of commissioned and antique engravings. At Seapoint Beach in Kittery Point, Maine, the society maintained a summer retreat with guest cottages in Tudor style. Penrose appeared to know personally the top executives of every major company in the United States, and by charisma and will, made Newcomen an important part of their lives. Called a "benevolent despot," he oversaw every detail on the society's production line of tributes to organizations, from editing and publishing an average of 55 booklet  histories per year, to officiating across the country at 60-70 luncheons and dinners annually at which the histories were orated by their authors. Except for educators, expenses were usually paid by the enterprises being honored, which bought for distribution over 12,000 copies to enhance their reputations. It is no exaggeration to say that, in its heyday, anyone who was anyone in American commerce, manufacturing and academia belonged to The Newcomen Society in North America. In 1952, "Time Magazine" referred to Penrose as "a combination of P. T. Barnum and the Archbishop of Canterbury." It quoted him saying: Reluctant to  slow down with age, Charles Penrose, Sr. died suddenly in 1958, the year he finally became president. The chairmanship next went to his son, Charles Penrose, Jr. (1921-2007). By 1981, The Newcomen Society in North America had 17,000 members. Decline. Following the retirement of Charles Penrose, Jr., membership declined during the stewardship of his successors. Despite its mandate to promote engineering and technology, Newcomen maintained clubby rituals that seemed dated in the age of the internet and video conferencing. Newcomen sold the Exton campus and its sumptuous furnishings. Its collection of antique model engines was auctioned by Christie's  in 2001. On December 17, 2007, Chairman Daniel V. Malloy and the trustees announced that The Newcomen Society of the United States would close. Over its 84-85 year existence, it honored more than 2,500 organizations and institutions. The archive of Newcomen Society histories is preserved at The National Museum of Industrial History in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. In 2008 the sole active chapter incorporated itself as the "Newcomen Society of Alabama".