The Royal Society Is Founded in London

On 28 November 1660, a gathering of twelve natural philosophers met at Gresham College in London following a lecture by Christopher Wren. Seeking to promote experimental learning through collaborative inquiry, the group resolved to establish a dedicated institution. Among the early organizers were prominent figures such as Robert Boyle, John Wilkins, William Brouncker, and Sir Robert Moray. These men drew inspiration from earlier informal assemblies, including mid-seventeenth-century gatherings in London and Oxford influenced by Francis Bacon's vision of cooperative natural science. Some seventeenth-century commentators alternatively attributed the idea to the influence of French scientific assemblies, though contemporaries like Robert Hooke strongly disputed that English investigators had merely copied foreign models.

Royal encouragement soon followed the initial gathering. Sir Robert Moray informed the members that King Charles II approved of their venture, leading to a royal charter signed on 15 July 1662 that formally established the Royal Society of London. A second charter, which passed the Great Seal on 22 April 1663, named the king as founder and gave the body a fuller title; today its formal name is the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge. The fellowship selected William Brouncker as its first president and adopted the Latin motto Nullius in verba, meaning to take nobody's word for it, expressing their commitment to verifying claims through physical demonstration rather than relying on authority.