THE CELEBRATION OF THE TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LONDON JULY 15-19, 1912 LONDON PRINTED FOR THE ROYAL SOCIETY AT THE OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS AND SOLD BY HUMPHREY MILFORD, AMEN CORNER, E.G. 1913 OXFORD : HORACE HART PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY 1 * I* .' > 3 I " o j ** a ' CONTENTS PAGE NARRATIVE OF THE CELEBRATION AND LIST OF DELEGATES ... 1 ADDRESS BY THE DEAN OF WESTMINSTER ...... 5 ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY .... 8 LATIN SPEECHES BY THE PUBLIC ORATORS OF THE UNIVERSITIES OF OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE IN PRESENTING DELEGATES FOR HONORARY DEGREES 24 ADDRESSES OF FELICITATION ........ 31 TELEGRAMS AND LETTERS 123 INDEX 270349 THE ROYAL SOCIETY CELEBRATION OF THE 250iH ANNIVERSARY Ox the 15th of July 1662 a Charter granted by King Charles II passed the Great Seal incorporating, under the name of ' The Royal Society ', a company of eminent and enthusiastic men who for some years had been prosecuting the study of Natural Science, or, as it was then termed, Experimental Philosophy. This date has accordingly been reckoned to be that of the birth of the Society as an organized association. The approach of the 250th return of the day suggested that the event was one which might appropriately be marked by some special form of commemoration. Hence, early in the year 1911 the President and Council of the Society determined to make it the occasion of a Celebration which should be held at a time as near as might be found convenient to that of the Society's birthday on 15th July 1912. As an appropriate permanent memorial of the occasion two volumes were undertaken to be prepared and published (1) a new edition of the ' Record ' of the Society and (2) a facsimile repro- duction of the pages of signatures of the Fellows in the Charter- book, from that of the Royal Founder down to those entered in the summer of 1912. The ' Record ', as revised, re-arranged, and enlarged, is intended to give an account of the foundation and early history of the Society with the text of all its Charters, its Statutes with their variations down to the present time, the Society's various Trusts, lists of its Benefactors, its Presidents and Officers and its Medal- lists and Lecturers, with an account of its Library, Portraits, Busts, and Medals, likewise full details regarding the existing Committees and the various work of the Society. The Chrono- 2 THE ROYAL SOCIETY logical Register of the Fellows has been thoroughly revised and for the first time made complete. The facsimile reproduction of the Signatures has been success- fully accomplished by the University Press, Oxford, and has been published in a folio volume with the title, * The Signatures in the First Journal-book and the Charter-book of the Royal Society.' This interesting volume contains the autographs of the Fellows from the first founders down to the present day, and is probably the most extensive existing collection of the signatures of dis- tinguished leaders in science during the last two centuries and a half. Besides the pages of the Charter-book, the volume also comprises facsimiles of three pages of the first Journal- book of the Society, on which, under date 5th December 1660, are inscribed the autograph signatures of the original company of men of science and their friends and well-wishers who resolved to form themselves into an organized Society, and who, some nineteen months later, were incorporated by the King as ' The Royal Society '. One of the chief difficulties in the preparation of this facsimile volume arose in the decipherment of many of the signatures and the compilation of an alphabetical List which should give accurately the dates of admission into the Society, with the page of the Charter-book on which each signature would be found. But in the end every signature was identified, and the volume together with the ' Record ' were both ready for dis- tribution by the 13th of July, on which day the President and Treasurer had the honour of presenting a copy of each volume to His Majesty King George V, who was graciously pleased to accept them and to express his interest in the forthcoming Celebration. Copies of these volumes were subsequently sent to the Universities, Academies, and other Institutions that were represented at the Anniversary. The invitations to be present in London for the purpose of attending the Society's Celebration began to be issued in January 1912. Each Foreign Member and a number of eminent foreign men of science who were not Members were specially invited, and the Universities, Academies, and other learned Institutions in the United Kingdom, in the British Dominions beyond the Sea, and in all the civilized countries of the world, were each asked to .2 1 3 .0 cr o K w