Royal Society

Royal Society
Name	Royal Society
Caption	Coat of arms
Formation	28 November 1660
Headquarters	Carlton House Terrace, London
President	Adrian Smith
Website	royalsociety.org

Royal Society. The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. Founded on 28 November 1660, it was granted a royal charter by King Charles II. The society has played a fundamental role in the advancement of science for over three centuries, fostering discovery and championing the importance of scientific evidence in public life.

History

The origins trace to informal meetings in the mid-17th century, influenced by the "new" or experimental philosophy advocated by Francis Bacon. Following a lecture at Gresham College by Christopher Wren, a group resolved to found "a Colledge for the Promoting of Physico-Mathematicall Experimentall Learning." Early fellows included Robert Boyle, John Wilkins, and Robert Hooke. The society's early work was chronicled in Philosophical Transactions, first published in 1665 under editor Henry Oldenburg. It navigated the political turmoil of the Glorious Revolution and supported pioneering work, from Isaac Newton's *Principia Mathematica* to expeditions like James Cook's voyage on HMS *Endeavour*. The 19th century saw reforms under presidents like Joseph Banks and the move to its current home at Carlton House Terrace.

Organisation and governance

The society is governed by a council, which is chaired by the president and includes the treasurer, biological and physical secretaries, and other elected fellows. Key executive roles include the executive director and the foreign secretary. Major decisions are made at anniversary meetings. The society's headquarters, at 6–9 Carlton House Terrace, provides facilities for meetings, lectures, and its extensive archives and library. It operates with funding from a parliamentary grant-in-aid, endowment income, and donations. The society maintains close ties with other national academies, including the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Academy of Medical Sciences.

Activities and publications

A core activity is the publication of high-impact scientific journals, including *Proceedings of the Royal Society*, *Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society*, and *Biology Letters*. It organizes a prestigious program of lectures and discussions, such as the Croonian Lecture and Bakerian Lecture. The society provides independent scientific advice to the UK Government and Parliament of the United Kingdom on issues like climate change, genome editing, and artificial intelligence. It runs extensive grant schemes for research and collaboration, supports science education through initiatives like the Royal Society of Chemistry partnership, and engages the public through exhibitions and events.

Membership

Election to the fellowship, denoted by the post-nominal letters FRS, is a significant honour. Up to 73 new fellows and foreign members are elected annually from the Commonwealth of Nations and Republic of Ireland, based on exceptional contributions to science. The fellowship includes distinguished scientists such as Stephen Hawking, Tim Berners-Lee, and Elizabeth Blackburn. Separate categories include Foreign Members and Honorary Fellows, the latter awarded for outstanding service to science. The society also elects early-career researchers as University Research Fellows and supports a cohort of Royal Society Research Professors.

Awards and lectures

The society administers numerous prestigious awards. The oldest is the Copley Medal, first awarded in 1731 to Stephen Gray; later recipients include Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, and Dorothy Hodgkin. Other major medals include the Royal Medal, Davy Medal, and Darwin Medal. The premier research prize is the Bakerian Medal. It also awards the Buchanan Medal for medical sciences and the Michael Faraday Prize for science communication. Lectureships like the Leeuwenhoek Lecture and Wilkins-Bernal-Medawar Lecture address specific fields.

Notable fellows

Throughout its history, the fellowship has included seminal figures in science. Early luminaries were Isaac Newton, who served as president, and Edmond Halley. 18th-century fellows included Benjamin Franklin and Joseph Priestley. The 19th century saw Charles Babbage, Michael Faraday, and Charles Lyell. In the 20th century, fellows included Ernest Rutherford, Paul Dirac, Alan Turing, and Francis Crick. Contemporary fellows span disciplines, from physicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell and chemist Carol V. Robinson to mathematicians like Timothy Gowers. Many fellows have also received the Nobel Prize.

Category:Scientific organizations based in the United Kingdom Category:National academies Category:1660 establishments in England