Royal Society Founded in London
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, one of the oldest scientific academies in continuous existence, grew out of a meeting of learned men in London in 1660. It became a model for how scientists share discoveries, test claims and build a common body of knowledge, and it helped make experiment a respected route to understanding nature.
The background lay in the intellectual ferment of the seventeenth century. Francis Bacon had argued earlier in the century that knowledge should advance through systematic observation and experiment rather than reliance on ancient authorities. During the turbulent 1640s and 1650s, small groups of natural philosophers met informally in London and Oxford to discuss such ideas, often at Gresham College. The political settlement of the Restoration, which returned Charles II to the throne in 1660, gave these circles a more secure footing.
The founding is usually dated to 28 November 1660, when a dozen or so men gathered after a lecture by Christopher Wren at Gresham College and agreed to form a society for promoting experimental learning. Early figures included Robert Moray, William Brouncker and Robert Boyle. Charles II took an interest and granted royal charters in 1662 and 1663, which gave the society legal standing and the royal name. The king did not fund it, however, and the Society's finances were often precarious, relying on members' subscriptions.
The Society's early work was distinctive in its emphasis on demonstration and witnessing. Experiments were performed before members, such as Boyle's air-pump trials, and results were recorded so that others could judge them. Robert Hooke served as curator of experiments and produced his richly illustrated Micrographia in 1665. In the same year Henry Oldenburg, the Society's secretary, began the Philosophical Transactions, which is generally regarded as the oldest scientific journal still published. Isaac Newton joined in 1672 and later served as president from 1703 until his death in 1727. The Society also published his Principia in 1687, although the cost of printing fell largely on Edmond Halley.
It is sometimes said that the Royal Society invented the modern scientific method, but historians tend to see it as one important institution within a wider European movement. Similar bodies, such as the Académie des Sciences in Paris, soon followed. Still, its motto, Nullius in verba, roughly "take nobody's word for it", captured an ideal that endured.
Today the Royal Society remains a leading scientific body, awarding prizes, publishing journals and advising on public policy. Its long record shows how organized, open exchange among researchers can reshape how societies understand the world.