The Society was founded in 1858. For a considerable part of its early life, it was called the Birmingham Natural History and Microscopical Society. In 1877, the Society played the lead in forming the Union of Midland Natural History Societies, which published the journal The Midland Naturalist. Some of the societies in the union later merged with the Birmingham Natural History Society. The Birmingham Philosophical Society, founded in 1876, merged in 1894, when the title of the Society was changed to the Birmingham Natural History and Philosophical Society. The Midland Malacological Society and the Birmingham Entomological Society were amalgamated in 1906 and 1908 respectively. The society's activities were greatly reduced by world war one but activity had picked up again by 1920. In 1924 the society carried out an extensive survey of Hartlebury Common. The Society rooms suffered bomb damage on October 25, 1940 and as a result the society suspended its activities for the remainder of hostilities. The society began to meet again in 1945 and restarted publication of its proceedings in 1950. The current title of the Society was first used in its Proceedings in 1964. Important early members of the society included the botanist James Eustace Bagnall, who produced the first Flora of Sutton Park and later the first Flora of Warwickshire.
Activities
The society was responsible for the designation of Edgbaston Pool as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and until 2012 was formally involved in its management. The society operates a library for its members, and holds regular meetings, field trips and training sessions. It publishes a journal, Proceedings of the Birmingham Natural History Society. First published in 1870, the journal currently appears in four parts to a volume; parts have appeared a different intervals over time, e.g. each part of Volume 15 covered two calendar years whereas each part of Volume 29 covered three. As of 2012, the hon. secretary is Dr Peter Jarvis.
Publications
Proceedings of the Birmingham Natural History Society ; currently published every three years
A Computer Mapped Flora by D. A. Cadbury, J. G. Hawkes and R. C. Readett, 1971 - a study of the flora of Vice-County 38, Warwickshire, published in conjunction with the University of Birmingham
A Fungus Flora of Warwickshire edited by M.C.Clark, 1980, published in conjunction with the University of Birmingham and the British Mycological Society
Lepidoptera of the Midland Plateau, published in Proceedings of the Birmingham Natural History Society26, 1992/93
