The Royal Society is the United Kingdom’s national academy of sciences and a self-governing fellowship devoted to advancing scientific knowledge. Founded in London in 1660 and incorporated by royal charter in 1662, it combines an elected scientific membership with activities in research funding, scholarly publishing, scientific advice, and public engagement. Its formal name is “The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge.” Its remit encompasses mathematics, the natural sciences, engineering, and medical science. It is also a registered charity, governed by a Council elected from its Fellowship. (royalsociety.org)
Origins and experimental principles
The Society emerged from informal gatherings of scholars in London and Oxford during the Scientific Revolution. On 28 November 1660, twelve participants met at Gresham College following an astronomy lecture by Christopher Wren and agreed to establish an organization for experimental learning. Charles II granted its first charter on 15 July 1662; a second charter in 1663 established the fuller institutional name. Its early meetings brought together physicians, merchants, lawyers, landowners, and aristocrats rather than a modern professional scientific community. (royalsociety.org)
Observation, correspondence, and experiment were central to its activities. Robert Hooke, appointed Curator of Experiments, organized demonstrations, while secretary Henry Oldenburg maintained an extensive correspondence network. The Society’s Latin motto, Nullius in verba, adopted in 1662, is conventionally translated as “take nobody’s word for it.” It expressed a commitment to checking claims against experimental evidence rather than accepting them solely on authority—an important institutional expression of the developing scientific method. (royalsociety.org)
Early scientific networks
The Fellowship extended beyond England. Early members included Antonie van Leeuwenhoek and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, linking the Society to investigators elsewhere in Europe. Isaac Newton was elected in 1672, and his Principia Mathematica appeared in 1687 under the Society’s imprimatur. These connections made the institution a meeting place for experimental reports, mathematical arguments, and information exchanged across national boundaries. (royalsociety.org)
The early Fellowship was exclusively male. The first women elected were Kathleen Lonsdale, an X-ray crystallographer, and Marjory Stephenson, a microbiologist and biochemist, in 1945. Their admission followed prolonged discussion about women’s eligibility and marked a change in the institution’s membership practices. (royalsociety.org)
Fellowship and governance
Election recognizes substantial contributions to scientific knowledge. Candidates normally require nomination by two existing Fellows. Subject-based committees assess research achievements and obtain references; Council oversees selection, and the Fellowship votes on the recommended candidates. Under the published procedure, election requires a two-thirds majority among Fellows voting. New members are formally admitted at a ceremony where they sign the Charter Book and the Society’s obligation. (royalsociety.org)
Membership routes include mainstream scientific achievement, wider contributions through leadership or scholarship, and applied science and innovation. Foreign Membership provides a route for eligible international scientists, while Honorary Fellowship recognizes distinguished service to science without requiring the same research record. Elected Fellowship should be distinguished from the Society’s funded research fellowships: the latter are competitive financial awards supporting research careers, not elections to institutional membership. (royalsociety.org)
Council serves both as the governing body and as the charity’s trustees. A Supplemental Charter approved in 2012 is its governing document; statutes and standing orders regulate institutional procedures. This structure combines authority vested in the Fellowship with committees and professional staff supporting its programmes. (royalsociety.org)
Scientific publishing
Oldenburg founded Philosophical Transactions in 1665. Initially his own publishing venture, it became an official Society publication in 1752. It provided a regular vehicle for circulating discoveries and observations, while editorial practices evolved over time. More systematic expert peer review was introduced during the nineteenth century; the journal’s early history should therefore not be equated directly with present-day refereeing procedures. (royalsociety.org)
The publishing programme now includes Philosophical Transactions A, covering physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences, and Philosophical Transactions B, covering life sciences. Proceedings A and Proceedings B publish research across the physical and biological sciences respectively. Other titles include Biology Letters, Journal of the Royal Society Interface, Open Biology, and Royal Society Open Science. Together they span physics, biology, and interdisciplinary research. (royalsociety.org)
Publishing also preserves the historical record. The Society digitized its journals from 1665 to 1996, and its Science in the Making portal, launched in 2023, supplies free access to archival material associated with journal publication, including correspondence and editorial documents. (royalsociety.org)
Research support, awards, and public activities
Research funding includes University Research Fellowships for scientists establishing independent careers and Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowships for early-career researchers requiring flexible working arrangements. International Exchanges support collaboration between UK-based researchers and overseas partners, while Industry Fellowships connect academic research with industrial work. (royalsociety.org)
The Copley Medal, first awarded in 1731, recognizes sustained scientific achievement across disciplines. Medals and research grants serve distinct functions: awards recognize accomplishments, whereas funding programmes support the work through which new results may be obtained. (royalsociety.org)
The Society produces reports on science-related public questions, including artificial intelligence, climate change, biodiversity, and education. Its 2024 report Science in the Age of AI examined changes in research methods, skills, integrity, and ethics. Public engagement includes the annual Summer Science Exhibition at Carlton House Terrace in London, a free event where visitors encounter research teams, interactive exhibits, and scientific talks. (royalsociety.org)