The first president of the Institute was John Johnson, who had been an early pioneer in the science of photography and was respected for his important chemical experiments and scientific lectures. The first members included the artist Charles Henry Granger, (Click here for more information about Granger's work and some examples) author and publisher John S. Locke, and the noted historian John Wingate Thornton, as well as prominent doctors, lawyers, and businessmen. By the 1880's the Institute could boast of members from across the United States, and corresponding members from all over the world, including Dom Pedro, the Emperor of Brazil. In 1891 the Institute accepted women as members, and soon welcomed the celebrated author Sarah Orne Jewett to the membership.