Guide to the Records and Collections of the Royal Society (as filmed by the AJCP), August 1642-1970

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Summary

Collection number:

M1927-M1940

Creator:

Royal Society of Great Britain

Extent:

395 items

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.

Items from this collection should include references to The Royal Society London and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: E.Sabine to Fox, 15 December 1855, The Royal Society, MS 710 File 91, (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1411919952).

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for reference.

Background

Content Summary:

Records 1699-1937 of the Royal Society comprising council and committee minutes, correspondence, letter-books, manuscripts, referee reports and other archives.

Among the many subjects dealt with in the records are: the 1769 transit of Venus; the voyages of Captain James Cook; the Cook Medal; Australian and New Zealand fauna; meteorological, magnetic and astronomical observations; the Great Melbourne Telescope; elections of Fellows; publications; solar eclipse expeditions; the 1883 Krakatoa eruption; the Funafuti coral reef expeditions; Antarctic exploration; award of medals; and scientific conferences.

Correspondents include Captain James Cook, Sir Joseph Banks, Sir Everard Home, Captain M. Flinders, Sir Thomas Brisbane, C. Rumker, W.B. Clarke, G. Neumayer, R.L.J. Ellery, Sir George Verdon, Sir James Hector, Sir Julius von Haast, A. Liversidge, Sir Ferdinand von Mueller, A.C. Haddon, Sir Edgeworth David, Sir William Bragg, Sir Orme Masson, Lord Rutherford, Sir Douglas Mawson and L. Cockayne.

Letters 1774-1820 received by Sir Charles Blagden referring to: illness of Omai; crossing of Blue Mountains; cession of Bencoolen to Dutch; Captain N. Baudin; Daniel Solander; and William Bligh. Correspondents are Sir Joseph Banks, C.M. Pole and Lord Mulgrave.

Correspondence 1822-1870 of Sir John F.W. Herschel. Subjects include: astronomical observations of Sir Thomas Brisbane and C. Rumker; Melbourne telescope; Parramatta Obseratory; Indigenous Australians in Tasmania; preservation and identification of Australian Aboriginal dialects; colonial legislation; Hobart Observatory; and Antarctic expedition of Captain J.C. Ross. Correspondents include G.B. Airy, F. Baily, Captain F. Beaufort, Captain R. FitzRoy, H. Lloyd, Sir Edward Sabine, W.H. Smyth, Sir John Franklin and Sir Redmond Barry.

Letters 1905-1921 sent to Sir Joseph Larmor referring to New Zealand magnetic survey, and publication of papers by Australian and New Zealand scientists.

Correspondence 1832-1859 of Sir John W. Lubbock relating to 1840-1844 Antarctic Expedition and establishment of fixed magnetic observatories. Correspondents include Lord Northampton and Sir Edward Sabine.

Photocopies of correspondence 1890-1936 of Lord Rutherford. Subjects include: Rutherford's research; award of 1908 Nobel Prize; academic appointments; visits to New Zealand; publications; and World War I. Correspondents include A. Bickerton, Sir William Bragg, T.H. Laby, E. Marsden, J. Marsden and J.A. Pollock.

Correspondence 1825-1873 of Sir Edward Sabine mainly concerning: magnetic and meteorological observations at Java and Australia; Melbourne Observatory; expedition of Captain J.C. Ross; and the purchase of the Great Melbourne Telescope. Correspondents include C. Buys-Ballot, R.L.J. Ellery, Sir John Herschel, J.H. Kay, G. Neumayer, W.P. Wilson and C. Elliot.

Biographical / Historical:

In November 1660 a meeting of philosophers at Gresham College resolved that there should be an association for the 'promoting of experimental philosophy'. King Charles II signified his approval of the new society and in 1661 the name Royal Society began to be used. A Royal Charter of Incorporation was granted on 15 July 1662.

By 1671 there were 187 Fellows and 12 Foreign Members. The membership increased steadily in the eighteenth century and by 1761 there were 352 Fellows. The Society had by then become one of the major scientific societies in the world and increasingly its advice was sought by the Government on any scientific questions. However, only a small proportion of the Fellows were proper scientists who contribute to the society's publications. In 1846 the Statutes were amended in order to limit the number of Fellows elected in a year to 15 and this transformed the Society into a body comprising; solely the most outstanding professional scientists.

For most of the eighteenth century the Society was based at Crane Court. In 1780 it moved to Somerset House, in 1857 to Burlington House, and in 1967 to Carlton House Terrace. Many of its activities, such as its lectures, publications and collections of books, manuscripts and portraits date from its earliest years. The Philosophical Transactions were first published in 1665, while the Proceedings commenced in 1832 and the Catalogue of Scientific Publications in 1866. A very large number of separate works have also been published. Medals were awarded in the eighteenth century, but the major medals, such as the Royal, Eavy and Darwin, were mainly established in the nineteenth century. In addition to its traditional activities, the Society has since the mid-nineteenth century been increasingly concerned with the funding of research, the award of research professorships and fellowships, and British representation on international associations and conferences.

Access and use

Conditions Governing Access:: Available for Access.
Conditions Governing Use:: Many of the records digitised as part of the AJCP are still in copyright. Readers wishing to publish or reproduce documents should seek permission, in the first instance, from The Royal Society London.