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Royal Society of London
The Royal Society, founded in 1660, is one of the world's oldest continuously operating academies of science, chartered by Charles II in 1662 and piv…
Timeline
- 1660Gresham College, London · LondonOn 28 November 1660, after Christopher Wren's lecture at Gresham College in London, twelve natural philosophers including Robert Boyle and John Wilkins gathered and resolved to form a formal body devoted to experimental natural knowledge, the direct predecessor of the Royal Society.
- 1662London · EnglandCharles II granted the first royal charter in 1662, conferring corporate status on the society under the formal name 'The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge', a major milestone in the institutionalization of science and a model for academies across Europe and the world.
- 1665London · EnglandIn 1665 the Royal Society founded Philosophical Transactions, the world's first continuously published peer-reviewed scientific journal, inaugurating modern scholarly publishing and promoting the international dissemination and accumulation of scientific knowledge.
Sources
- The Philosophical Breakfast Club: Four Remarkable Friends Who Transformed Science and Changed the World — Laura J. Snyder (2011)
- The Royal Society: A History — Adrian Johns (2021)