ROYAL SOCIETY AND RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

4.1. THE UK’S NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES – THE ROYAL SOCIETY

The Royal Society, the UK's national academy of science, is at the cutting edge of scientific progress. It supports many of the UK's top young scientists, engineers and technologists. It influences science policy; it debates scientific issues with the public and much more. It is an independent, charitable body which derives its authoritative status from its 1400 Fellows and Foreign Members.

The history of science since 1660 is closely intertwined with the story of the Royal Society.

The origins of the Royal Society lie in an "invisible college" of natural philosophers who began meeting in the mid-1640s to discuss the ideas of Francis Bacon. Its official foundation date is 28 November 1660, when 12 of them met at Gresham College after a lecture by Christopher Wren, the Gresham Professor of Astronomy, and decided to found a College for the Promoting of Physico-Mathematical Experimental Learning'. This group included Wren himself, Robert Boyle, John Wilkins, Sir Robert Moray, and William, Viscount Brouncker.

The Society was to meet weekly to witness experiments and discuss what we would now call scientific topics. The first Curator of Experiments was Robert Hooke. It was Moray who first told the King, Charles II, of this venture and secured his approval and encouragement.

The name The Royal Society first appears in print in 1661 and in the second Royal Charter of 1663 the Society is referred to as 'The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge'.

The Society found accommodation at Gresham College and rapidly began to acquire a library (the first book was presented in 1661) and a repository or museum of specimens of scientific interest. After the Fire of 1666 it moved for some years to Arundel House, London home of the Dukes of Norfolk. It was not until 1710, under the Presidency of Isaac Newton, that the Society acquired its own home, two houses in Crane Court, off the Strand.

In 1662 the Society was permitted by Royal Charter to publish and the first two books it produced were John Evelyn's Sylva and Micrographia by Robert Hooke. In 1665, the first issue of Philosophical Transactions was edited by Henry Oldenburg, the Society's Secretary. The Society took over publication some years later and Philosophical Transactions is now the oldest scientific journal in continuous publication.

From the beginning, Fellows of the Society had to be elected, although the criteria for election were vague and the vast majority of the Fellowship were not professional scientists. In 1731 a new rule established that each candidate for election had to be proposed in writing and this written certificate signed by those who supported his candidature. These certificates survive and give a glimpse of both the reasons why Fellows were elected and the contacts between Fellows.

The Society moved again in 1780 to premises at Somerset House provided by the Crown, an arrangement made by Sir Joseph Banks who had become President in 1778 and was to remain so until his death in 1820. Banks was in favour of maintaining a mixture among the Fellowship of working scientists and wealthy amateurs who might become their patrons. This view grew less popular in the first half of the 19th century and in 1847 the Society decided that in future Fellows would be elected solely on the merit of their scientific work.

This new professional approach meant that the Society was no longer just a learned society but also de facto an academy of scientists. The Government recognised this in 1850 by giving a grant to the Society to assist scientists in their research and to buy equipment. Therefore a Government Grant system was established and a close relationship began, which nonetheless still allowed the Society to maintain its autonomy, essential for scientific research. In 1857 the Society moved once more, to Burlington House in Piccadilly, with its staff of two.

Over the next century the work and staff of the Society grew rapidly and soon outgrew this site. Therefore in 1967 the Society moved again to its present location on Carlton House Terrace with a staff which has now grown to over 120, all working to further the Royal Society's roles as independent scientific academy, learned society and funding body.

Fellows of the Society

The Society's foundation is its Fellowship, which is made up of the most eminent scientists, engineers and technologists from the UK and the Commonwealth. Each year the Fellows elect 44 new Fellows, chosen from across the science, engineering and medicine spectrum - an honour regarded as the highest accolade a scientist can receive and next only to a Nobel Prize. They also elect six Foreign Members each year.

The Royal Society funds many of the UK's best scientists. As part of our commitment to promoting excellence in science, we fund over 1600 scientists each year in the form of salary payments, fellowships, travel or equipment awards.

Today Fellows of the Royal Society include Nobel prize-winning scientists such as Paul Nurse (a cancer researcher) and Peter Mansfield (whose work led to the development of magnetic resonance imaging or MRI). Other Fellows include mathematician and physicist Stephen Hawking; IVF and stem cell research pioneer Anne McLaren and inventor of the worldwide web Tim Berners-Lee.

Library and Archives

The Royal Society Library is a world-class resource for the study of the history of science, and includes unique material of national and international significance

Agree or disagree with the following statements:

ü The Royal Society is a state body supported by the government.

ü From the beginning Fellows of the Society had to be appointed and had to be professional scientists.

ü Sir Joseph Banks became President of the Royal Society in 1778.

ü The Government Grant System was established in 1850.

ü Each year the Fellows elect 44 new Foreign members.