He was a lecturer and private tutor who played an important role in the administration of some of the city's learned societies.
Johnny was elected to the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society in 1816 and served as its librarian from 1819 to 1827, and as secretary in the 1840s.
[1] In 1824, Johnathan Davies was a member of the executive committee charged with establishing the Manchester Mechanics' Institute[2] and Johnathan Davies managed the institute's laboratories until the late 1840s, serving as vice-chairman and vice-president under Sir Benjamin Heywood.
[1] Johnathan Davies lectured at the Pine Street Medical School and was a promoter of the earliest, unsuccessful, attempt to found a university in Manchester in 1836.
The circle expanded to include Edward William Binney and John Leigh.