— Ch. 1 · Founding And Early Years —
Royal Society.
~5 min read · Ch. 1 of 5
On the 28th of November 1660, twelve natural philosophers gathered at Gresham College in London to establish a new institution. They called it the Colledge for the Promoting of Physico-Mathematicall Experimentall Learning. Christopher Wren, Robert Boyle, John Wilkins, William Brouncker and Robert Moray stood among those founders. The group had been meeting informally before this date as part of what historians call the Invisible College. This precursor group included natural philosophers who corresponded with figures like Isaac Marcombes and Samuel Hartlib. Their shared goal was acquiring knowledge through experimental investigation rather than relying on ancient texts alone. A royal charter signed on the 15th of July 1662 officially created the Royal Society of London. Lord Brouncker served as its first president. A second charter followed on the 23rd of April 1663, naming the society the Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge. Robert Hooke took the role of Curator of Experiments that same year. These early meetings featured experiments performed by Hooke and later by Denis Papin, appointed in 1684. The society temporarily moved to Arundel House in 1666 after the Great Fire of London. It returned to Gresham College in 1673.
Evolution Of Governance
By 1703 Sir Isaac Newton became president of the Royal Society and held the post until his death in 1727. During his tenure he used his position to resolve a dispute over infinitesimal calculus between himself and Gottfried Leibniz. He appointed an impartial committee but published a report written entirely under his own name. Financial difficulties plagued the institution during the early eighteenth century. Fellows often failed to pay their subscriptions regularly or at all. By 1740 the society carried a deficit of £240. The treasurer began dealing harshly with members who had not paid their dues. In the mid-1750s a political faction known as the Hardwicke Circle dominated society politics. Lord Hardwicke led this group which included Daniel Wray and Thomas Birch. They held key offices such as secretary and vice-president throughout the decade. The circle declined in the 1780s alongside the Whig party in British politics. A Charters Committee formed in 1830 aimed to restrict membership and improve scientific standards. James South established the committee after Charles Babbage published a critique titled Reflections on the Decline of Science in England. The committee recommended limiting annual fellow elections to fifteen people. This limit increased to seventeen in 1930 and twenty in 1937. As of 2024, eighty-five fellows and twenty-four foreign members are elected each year.