List of Presidents of The Royal Society

List Of Presidents Of The Royal Society

The president of the Royal Society (PRS) is the elected director of the Royal Society of London who presides over meetings of the society's council.

After informal meetings at Gresham College, the Royal Society was officially founded on 28 November 1660 when a group of academics decided to found 'a Colledge for the Promoting of Physico-Mathematicall Experimentall Learning', acquiring a Royal Charter on 15 July 1662 that nominated William Brouncker as president. The royal charter also stipulated that future presidents should be elected by the council and fellows of the society at anniversary meetings each year on St. Andrew's Day (30 November).

The details of the presidency were described by the second Royal Charter, which did not give any limit for how long a president could serve and there were considerable fluctuations of a president's term of office until well into the nineteenth century. By then, sentiment had turned against electing wealthy amateurs solely because they might become patrons of the society and, in 1847, the society decided that Fellows will be elected solely on scientific merit. By current society statute, a president can not serve for more than 5 years.

The current president is Sir Paul Nurse. Historically, the duties of the president have been both formal and social. The Cruelty to Animals Act 1876 established the president as one of the only individuals capable of certifying that a particular experiment on an animal was justified, and in addition he acted as the government's chief (albeit informal) advisor for scientific matters. At the same time, the president was tasked with entertaining distinguished foreign guests and scientists.Since the 1870s it has been usual (with a few exceptions) for each president to serve for exactly five years.

The changeover of presidents occurs on the Royal Society Anniversary Day, the weekday on or nearest to 30 November, after the departing president's Anniversary Address.