 During the years from 1821 to 1841, Keats led a philosophical society, meant to overcome 
Louisville's raw culture, operating a literary salon in his living room which evolved
into the Lyceum and then into the board of Louisville College, the precursor to the University of Louisville.In 1827, Keats was elected to the Ohio Bridge Commission, laying the foundation for the river's first crossing.The state government appointed him to the board of the Bank of Kentucky in 1832.