The Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society (‘Lit and Phil’) has been in existence since 1781 and is one of the oldest learned societies in the United Kingdom. Important past members include John Dalton, the ‘father of modern chemistry’; James Prescott Joule; Peter Mark Roget, originator of the Thesaurus; William Fairbairn, the engineer; Henry Roscoe, the chemist; Ernest Rutherford, the nuclear physicist, and Joseph Whitworth, the precision engineer. Professor Tom Kilburn was the designer and builder of the world’s first functioning stored programme electronic computer.

Throughout the year, the Manchester Lit and Phil presents a programme of lectures by acknowledged experts in a wide range of subjects.