The Birth of the Royal Society

During the political turmoil of 17th century Britain, a number of professors and scholars at the nation’s two great institutions of learning—Oxford and Cambridge—were expelled for political or religious beliefs. (This was two hundred years before tenure.) Some of these academics banded together to form the “Invisible College,” a society with the common goal to acquire knowledge through experimental investigation. Religion and politics were forbidden as topics of discussion, so as not to bring up passions that could interfere with rational and open discussion. And the college quickly grew to a network of astronomers, mathematicians, and natural philosophers. Much of the discussion took place by letters, and one of the most common methods used to communicate was through annotations written in personal copies of books that were loaned, given, or sold from person to person.

With the restoration of the British Crown in 1660 and the corronation of Charles II, the college petitioned the King for his support of the institution, and with his patronage the invisible college became The Royal Society.

The motto of the Royal Society, Nullius in Verba (“On the words of no one”) was written to promote the Society’s commitment to the truth of scientific matters through experiment rather than through citation of authority. This was a break from the philosophical academic tradition of the time, which established scientific truth on logic, “providence,” and the citation of such ancient philosophers such as Aristotle.

Today, the Royal Society (which should not be confused with the Royal Geographic Society, which was established seperately in the 19th century) continues to fund scientific research, publishing, awards, and science and mathematics education advice.