The premises of The Royal Society, 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London (first four properties only)
The Royal Society is asociety forscience and scientists.[1] It was founded in 1660 byCharles II. It is the oldest society of its kind still in existence.
Themotto of the Royal Society isNullius in Verba (Latin: take nobody's word for it).[3][4][5] This shows the Society's commitment to establishing scientific truth through experiment rather than by quoting authority.
Although this seems obvious today, the philosophical basis of the Royal Society differed from previous philosophies such asscholasticism, which established scientific truth based on deductive logic, concordance with divine providence and the citation of such ancient authorities asAristotle.
The members of the society are calledFellows of the Royal Society, and put the lettersFRSafter their names. There are usually about 1600 of them. They are elected by existing Fellows. All other posts, such as the Secretary and President, are also by election.
The Society's 15 Sections are administered by the permanent staff, led by the Executive Secretary, Stephen Cox CVO. The Executive Secretary is supported by the Senior Managers of the Society, including:
Mr Ian Cooper, Director of Finance and Operations
Dr Peter Collins, Director of Science Policy
Dr Peter Cotgreave, Director of Communications
The Society bestows ten medals, seven awards (prizes) and nine prize lectureships variously annually, biennially or triennially, according to the terms of reference for each award. The Society also runsThe Aventis Prizes for Science Books.
1669 — third Royal Charter; original proposal would have madeChelsea College the permanent home of the Society, but the site becameChelsea Hospital instead
1710 — gets its own home in Crane Court
1780 — moves to premises at Somerset House provided by the Crown[8]
1847 — changed election criteria so that Fellows would be elected solely on the merit of their scientific work
1850 —ParliamentaryGrant-in-aid commences, of £1,000, to assist scientists in their research and to buy equipment.
Rousseau, George (1981).The Letters and Private Papers of Sir John Hill, 17141775. New York: AMS Press.ISBN0404614728.OCLC8111658.
Sprat, Thomas & Cowley, Abraham (2003) [1667].The history of the RoyalSociety of London for the improving of natural knowledge. Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Publishing.ISBN0766128679.OCLC63174140.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Lomas, Robert (2002).Freemasonry and the Birth of Modern Science. Gloucester, Mass.: Fair Winds Press.ISBN1592330118.OCLC52158257.
↑Full title: The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge.
↑"Prince of Wales opens Royal Society's refurbished building". The Royal Society. 2004-07-07. Retrieved2008-07-10.Her Majesty The Queen is the current patron, and the reigning monarch has always been the patron of the Royal Society since its foundation.
↑The full quote fromHorace - "Nullius addictus judicare in verba magistri" - expands into the gold standard of objectivity: "Not compelled to swear to any master's words".
