John Dalton was elected president of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society in 1817.

C. L. Barnes has written:

'The Manchester Literary & Philosophical Society' -- subject- s -: English literature, Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, Societies

'Parallels in Dante and Milton' -- subject- s -: Comparative Literature, Criticism and interpretation, English and Italian, Italian and English

Some time after he became a member of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical society after he wrote his first paper about colour blindness.

His first notable achievement was being elected as a member of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society. This is notable because it was where Enlightenment ideas were discussed. Another achievement is the fact that he became a member of the Manchester Board of Health, which worked towards improving working conditions for factory workers.

Cambridge Philosophical Society was created in 1819.