List of presidents of the Royal Society facts for kids

The symbol of the Royal Society

The President of the Royal Society (often called PRS) is the main leader of the Royal Society of London. This society is a very old and famous group of scientists. The President is chosen by election and leads important meetings for the society.

The Royal Society began on November 28, 1660. A group of smart people, including Christopher Wren, met and decided to create a "College for Promoting Mathematical Experimental Learning." This meant they wanted a place to explore science through experiments. King Charles II officially recognized them in 1662 with a special document called a Royal Charter. This made them the "Royal Society of London." The first President was William Brouncker. The King's charter said that future presidents would be chosen by the society's members every year on St. Andrew's Day (November 30).

How Presidents Are Chosen

The rules for the President's job were made clearer in a second Royal Charter. At first, there was no limit on how long a president could serve. Some served for many years, while others served for only a short time. For a long time, wealthy people were sometimes chosen as president, hoping they would support the society with money.

However, by the mid-1800s, the society decided that members should be chosen only for their scientific skills. Since the 1870s, most presidents have served for exactly five years. Today, the rules say a president cannot serve for more than five years. The current President is Sir Adrian Smith. He started his five-year term on November 30, 2020.

What the President Does

Historically, the President had many important jobs. They had formal duties, like signing off on certain animal experiments under an old law (the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876). They also acted as an informal advisor to the government on science topics. Besides these serious tasks, the President also had social duties. They would host and entertain important scientists and guests from other countries.

The change of presidents happens around November 30, which is the Royal Society Anniversary Day. The outgoing President gives a special speech before the new President takes over. Since 1901, many presidents have won a Nobel Prize. This shows how important their scientific work has been. Also, many past presidents have received the Order of Merit, a special honor in the United Kingdom.

Sir Joseph Banks served as President for the longest time.

Presidents of the Royal Society

List of presidents of the Royal Society from 1662 – till date.

No.	Term	Portrait	President	Profession
1	1662–1677		William Brouncker, 2nd Viscount Brouncker	Mathematician
2	1677–1680		Sir Joseph Williamson	Civil servant and politician
3	1680–1682		Sir Christopher Wren	Architect, astronomer and physicist
4	1682–1683		Sir John Hoskyns, 2nd Baronet	Lawyer
5	1683–1684		Cyril Wyche	Lawyer, politician and administrator
6	1684–1686		Samuel Pepys	Civil servant and politician
7	1686–1689		John Vaughan, 3rd Earl of Carbery	Politician
8	1689–1690		Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke	Politician
9	1690–1695		Sir Robert Southwell	Diplomat
10	1695–1698		Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax	Poet and Statesman
11	1698–1703		John Somers, 1st Baron Somers	Jurist and Statesman
12	1703–1727		Sir Isaac Newton	Physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian
13	1727–1741		Sir Hans Sloane, 1st Baronet	Physician and collector
14	1741–1752		Martin Folkes	Antiquarian
15	1752–1764		George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield	Astronomer
16	1764–1768		James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton	Astronomer
17	1768–1768		Sir James Burrow	Legal reporter
18	1768–1772		James West	Politician and antiquarian
19	1772–1772		Sir James Burrow	Legal reporter
20	1772–1778		Sir John Pringle, 1st Baronet	Physician
21	1778–1820		Sir Joseph Banks	Naturalist and botanist
22	1820-1820		William Hyde Wollaston	Chemist
23	1820–1827		Sir Humphry Davy, 1st Baronet	Chemist and inventor
24	1827–1830		Davies Gilbert	Engineer, author and politician
25	1830–1838		Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex	Sixth son of George III of the United Kingdom
26	1838–1848		Spencer Compton, 2nd Marquess of Northampton	Nobleman
27	1848–1854		William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse	Astronomer
28	1854–1858		John Wrottesley, 2nd Baron Wrottesley	Astronomer
29	1858–1861		Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 1st Baronet	Physiologist and surgeon
30	1861–1871		Sir Edward Sabine	Astronomer, geophysicist, ornithologist and explorer
31	1871–1873		Sir George Biddell Airy	Mathematician and Astronomer
32	1873–1878		Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker	Botanist and explorer
33	1878–1883		William H. Spottiswoode	Mathematician and physicist
34	1883–1885		Thomas Henry Huxley	Biologist
35	1885–1890		Sir George Stokes, 1st Baronet	Mathematician and physicist
36	1890–1895		William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin	Mathematical physicist
37	1895–1900		Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister	Surgeon
38	1900–1905		Sir William Huggins	Astronomer
39	1905–1908		John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh	Physicist
40	1908–1913		Sir Archibald Geikie	Geologist and writer
41	1913–1915		Sir William Crookes	Chemist and physicist
42	1915–1920		Sir Joseph John Thomson	Physicist
43	1920–1925		Sir Charles Scott Sherrington	Neurophysiologist, histologist, bacteriologist, and pathologist
44	1925–1930		Sir Ernest Rutherford (later 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson)	Physicist and chemist
45	1930–1935		Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins	Biochemist
46	1935–1940		Sir William Henry Bragg	Physicist, chemist and mathematician
47	1940–1945		Sir Henry Hallett Dale	Pharmacologist and physiologist
48	1945–1950		Sir Robert Robinson	Organic chemist
49	1950–1955		Edgar Adrian, 1st Baron Adrian	Electrophysiologist
50	1955–1960		Sir Cyril Norman Hinshelwood	Physical chemist
51	1960–1965		Howard Florey, Baron Florey	Pharmacologist and pathologist
52	1965–1970		Patrick Blackett (Baron Blackett after 1969)	Physicist
53	1970–1975		Sir Alan Lloyd Hodgkin	Physiologist and Biophysicist
54	1975–1980		Alexander R. Todd, Baron Todd	Biochemist
55	1980–1985		Sir Andrew Huxley	Physiologist and biophysicist
56	1985–1990		Sir George Porter (Baron Porter of Luddenham after 1990)	Chemist
57	1990–1995		Sir Michael Atiyah	Mathematician
58	1995–2000		Sir Aaron Klug	Chemist and biophysicist
59	2000–2005		Sir Robert May (Baron May of Oxford after 2001)	Mathematical Biologist
60	2005–2010		Martin Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow	Cosmologist and astrophysicist
61	2010–2015		Sir Paul Nurse	Geneticist and cell biologist
62	2015–2020		Venki Ramakrishnan	Biophysicist
63	2020–present		Sir Adrian Smith	Statistician