History of Science Society

Name

History of Science Society

Legal name

History of Science Society

Website

https://hssonline.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1912

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The History of Science Society is a U.S.-based non-profit scholarly society serving over 3,000 global historians of science, technology, and medicine through the Isis and Osiris journals, the HSTM bibliographic database and IsisCB Explore, annual meetings, dissertation grants, and the Sponsor-a-Scholar program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Academic Society Services

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Libraries and Archives (51921)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Scholarly Society & Association Publishing (EDAGAFAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies) (THAHACAA), Medical, Scientific & Healthcare Congress Organizers (THAHACAD), Scientific & Laboratory Reference (Chemistry, Biology, Physics; Methods & Protocols) (EDAGAGAG)

Keywords

• History of science scholarship
• Academic membership services
• Scholarly journal publishing
• Academic conference services
• Professional society services

Headquarters

HQ city

Philadelphia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees from individual and institutional members provide core operating revenue. Membership tiers include Individual, Retired, and Student categories, with benefits including journal subscriptions and access to the HSTM database.
2. Annual Meeting Registration: Registration fees for the annual meeting and joint conferences. Pricing varies by member status (full, regular, concession, student rates). The 2026 Edinburgh meeting ranges from $125 (student) to $400 (full rate).
3. Journal Publications: Society produces Isis (quarterly journal) and Osiris (annual thematic publication) through partnership with University of Chicago Press. Member subscriptions included in membership; non-member subscriptions and advertising generate revenue.
4. Donations and Endowments: Tax-deductible donations support various designated funds including General Operating, Dissertation Research Travel Grant, Sponsor-a-Scholar, Graduate Student Support, and named endowments (Elizabeth Paris, Hazen-Polsky, Pauly, Rainger, Reingold).
5. Conference Sponsorships: Organizations and publishers sponsor annual meetings and specific events, contributing financial support in exchange for visibility among scholars.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The History of Science Society is a non-profit professional membership organization that advances the history of science, technology, and medicine through scholarly publishing (Isis and Osiris journals, Isis Current Bibliography), bibliographic databases (HSTM Database and IsisCB Explore), annual scholarly meetings, the Interdisciplinary Summer School, and grant programs supporting graduate students and international scholars. Membership tiers (Individual, Retired, Student) provide journal subscriptions, database access, reduced conference registration, and professional networking.

Product overview

The History of Science Society operates a portfolio of scholarly publications and member services focused on advancing the history of science. Its core offerings include two peer-reviewed journals—Isis (quarterly) and Osiris (annual thematic)—along with the Isis Current Bibliography and its web-based exploration tool IsisCB Explore. Members receive access to the HSTM Database, the quarterly HSS Newsletter, and reduced registration to the Annual Meeting. The Society also runs an annual Interdisciplinary Summer School and administers grant programs including the Dissertation Travel Grant and Sponsor-a-Scholar Program for international scholars.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Isis: Premier international quarterly journal dedicated to the history of science, featuring topical articles and book reviews, published by University of Chicago Press.
• Osiris
• Isis Current Bibliography
• HSTM Database

Products and services

• Isis Premier international quarterly journal dedicated to the history of science, featuring topical articles, book reviews, and the Isis Current Bibliography. Founded by George Sarton in 1912; currently edited by Elise K. Burton (University of Toronto) and Projit Bihari Mukharji (Ashoka University), with Pablo F. Gómez as book review editor. Published through partnership with University of Chicago Press. Targeted at professional historians of science, technology, and medicine, graduate students, and research institutions worldwide.
• Osiris

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 3,000 individual and institutional members across the world
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and minor.

• European Society for the History of Science (ESHS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 July 2026ESHS and HSS are co-organizing their first joint meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland, July 12-16, 2026. The joint meeting combines programs from both societies under the theme 'Shifting Perspectives: Plural Worlds, Contested Sciences.' Conference registration includes two-year ESHS membership.
• British Society for the History of Science (BSHS)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 July 2026BSHS is providing support for the 2026 ESHS/HSS Joint Meeting in Edinburgh. The society collaborates with HSS and ESHS on reviewers for the joint meeting program and offers Butler-Eyles Grants and BSHS Care Grants for eligible participants.
• University of Chicago PresscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUniversity of Chicago Press publishes and distributes Isis and Osiris journals for HSS. Isis is edited by Elise K. Burton (University of Toronto) and Projit Bihari Mukharji (Ashoka University), with Pablo F. Gómez as book review editor.
• Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH), University of EdinburghminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIASH provided space for Sunday meetings during the 2026 ESHS/HSS Joint Meeting. They offer early-career fellowships that meeting participants can learn about through their website.
• YourMembership (by Streetwire)supportingTechnology or IntegrationYourMembership provides the membership management software platform powering the HSS website, handling member logins, registrations, and the online community functionality.
• Common CoffeeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCommon Coffee provided coffee packets for conference tote bags at the 2026 ESHS/HSS Joint Meeting as an in-kind sponsorship contribution.
• IsisCB (Isis Current Bibliography)supportingTechnology or IntegrationThe IsisCB Explore platform provides web-based access to the Isis Current Bibliography, indexing articles, books, and dissertations in the history of science. The platform is a key member benefit.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• International Society for the History of Philosophy of Science: Smaller international scholarly society at the intersection of history and philosophy of science, with overlapping membership and conference attendance. Niche overlap on the HSS core domain.
• Society for the History of the Earth Sciences: Specialty scholarly society focused on history of earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences. Comparable small academic society with annual meetings and member-driven journals; partial thematic overlap.

Broad incumbents

• American Association for the Advancement of Science: Much larger U.S. scientific organization publishing Science and hosting the Annual Meeting. Not a direct history-of-science peer, but its Section on History and Philosophy of Science overlaps with HSS's intellectual constituency.
• American Historical Association: Larger generalist scholarly society for historians, publishing the American Historical Review and serving as an umbrella organization that includes history of science among many fields. Sets standards for the broader discipline HSS operates within.

Direct peers

• British Society for the History of Science: UK-based scholarly society for history of science that co-supports HSS meetings and offers its own grants, awards, and publications (BJHS). Most direct cross-Atlantic counterpart.
• European Society for the History of Science: Continental European scholarly society organizing biennial congresses in the history of science. Currently co-hosting the 2026 Edinburgh Joint Meeting with HSS, demonstrating directly comparable mission, membership model, and conference operations.
• Society for the History of Technology: U.S.-based scholarly society with overlapping history-of-science/technology focus, publishing Technology and Culture journal and hosting annual meetings. Competes for the same pool of HSTM scholars.
• Medieval Academy of America: Humanities scholarly society publishing Speculum journal and hosting an annual congress. Mirrors HSS's combination of membership dues, scholarly journal, conference, and grant programs — useful structural benchmark for small learned society operations.
• Philosophy of Science Association: Interdisciplinary scholarly society publishing Philosophy of Science journal and hosting biennial meetings. Adjacent intellectual territory (foundations of science) with the same membership-society-and-journal operating model.

Others

• History of Science Society (no further peer): None applicable — placeholder removed.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hssonline
• Instagraminstagram.com/historyofsciencesociety
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/history-of-science-society

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about History of Science Society