Fellowship of the
Royal Society is open to
scientists,
engineers and technologists from the
United Kingdom and
Commonwealth of Nations, on the basis of having made "a substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathematics, engineering science and medical science".[4] Election to the Fellowship is highly regarded and sought after, bringing prestige to both the individual academically and the institution the Fellow is associated with.[5] For scientists in the United Kingdom, the recognition is considered second only to being awarded the
Nobel Prize.[6]
While there was no explicit prohibition of women as
Fellow of the Royal Society in its original charters and statutes, election to the fellowships was for much of the Society's history de facto closed to women. As a result of the dissolution of nunneries in connection with the
Dissolution of the Monasteries by
Henry VIII, and female exclusion from schools and universities, the formal education of British girls and women was effectively non-existent throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. Women slowly gained admittance to
learned societies in the UK starting in the 19th century, with the founding of the
Zoological Society of London in 1829 and the
Royal Entomological Society in 1833, both of which admitted women fellows from their inception.[7][8]
The first recorded question of women being admitted to the Royal Society occurred in 1900, when
Marian Farquharson, the first female fellow of the
Royal Microscopical Society, sent a letter to the Council of the Royal Society petitioning that "duly qualified women should have the advantage of full fellowship". In its reply, the Council stated that the question of women fellows "must depend on the interpretation to be placed upon the Royal Charters under which the Society has been governed for more than three hundred years".[7] When
Hertha Ayrton was nominated for fellowship in 1902, her candidature was turned down on the basis that as a married woman she had
no standing in law.[9] The
Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 made it illegal for an incorporated society to refuse admission on the grounds of an individual's sex or
marital status. While the Society acknowledged the provision of section 1 of the Act in 1925, in reply to a question originally put to them by the
Women's Engineering Society three years prior, it was not until 1943 that another woman was nominated for fellowship.
Kathleen Lonsdale and
Marjory Stephenson were duly elected in 1945, after a postal vote amending the Society's statutes to explicitly allow women fellows.[7][8]
As of 2020[update], a total of 198 women have been elected fellows. Two women have been elected under the Society's former Statute 12 regulation and two Honorary Fellows for their service to the cause of science. Another four women, from the
British Royal Family, have been either Royal Fellow or Patron of the Society. Thirty six more women have been elected as Foreign Members. Of the approximately 1,600 living fellows and foreign members in 2018, 8.5 per cent are women compared to 0.4% in 1945, according to a historical research project conducted by
Aileen Fyfe and
Camilla Mørk Røstvik.[3][10]
Between 1903 and 1996, Statute 12 of the Society permitted the council to elect someone who would not otherwise qualify for election under the normal criteria for "conspicuous service to the cause of science, or are such that their election would be of signal benefit to the Society". Statute 12 Fellows were replaced by the introduction of Honorary Fellows in 1997.[331]
Throughout its history, the Royal Society has elected a number of individuals to its Fellowship by virtue of their being a member of the
nobility.[338] Such elections were restricted first in 1874 to
princes and members of the
Privy Council, and subsequently in 1903 to princes of the British Royal Family only.[331][339] This has since been relaxed to allow the election of any member of the British Royal Family.[340] Those elected by virtue of their
royal blood or
marriage are known as Royal Fellows.[341] From the beginning of the practice of British
royal patronage in the 18th century,[342] the reigning monarch of
Great Britain (and since 1801 that of the United Kingdom), starting with
King George I,[343] has always served as patron of the Society.
^Ho, Peng Yoke (2005). Reminiscence of a roving scholar : science, humanities, and Joseph Needham. New Jersey: World Scientific Pub. Co. p. 168.
ISBN9789812565884.
^
abFerry, G. (14 July 2010). "The exception and the rule: women and the Royal Society 1945-2010". Notes and Records of the Royal Society. 64: S163–S172.
doi:
10.1098/rsnr.2010.0043.
S2CID74578967.
^Robertson, M. (1 November 1949). "Marjory Stephenson. 1885-1948". Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society. 6 (18): 562–577.
doi:
10.1098/rsbm.1949.0013.
S2CID162259455.
^Dodson, G. (1 December 2002). "Dorothy Mary Crowfoot Hodgkin, O.M. 12 May 1910 - 29 July 1994". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 48: 179–219.
doi:
10.1098/rsbm.2002.0011.
PMID13678070.
S2CID61764553.
^Beale, G. H. (1 November 1995). "Charlotte Auerbach. 14 May 1899-17 March 1994". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 41: 20–42.
doi:
10.1098/rsbm.1995.0002.
S2CID6892151.
^Goodwin, L. G.; Vickerman, K. (1 November 1992). "Ann Bishop. 19 December 1899-7 May 1990". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 38: 28–39.
doi:
10.1098/rsbm.1992.0002.
PMID11616217.
S2CID21848486.
^Morris, J. G. (1 November 1997). "Florence Gwendolen Rees. 3 July 1906--4 October 1994: Elected F.R.S. 1971". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society: 445–459.
doi:
10.1098/rsbm.1997.0024.
S2CID70699996.
^Owen, M. (1 November 1995). "Dame Janet Maria Vaughan, D. B. E. 18 October 1899-9 January 1993". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 41: 482–498.
doi:
10.1098/rsbm.1995.0029.
S2CID32982711.
^Fettes, D. J.; Plant, J. A. (1 November 1995). "Janet Watson. 1 September 1923-29 March 1985". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 41: 500–514.
doi:
10.1098/rsbm.1995.0030.
S2CID72513584.
^"Fiona Fox". royalsociety.org. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
^Crosland, M. (1 March 1983). "Explicit Qualifications as a Criterion for Membership of the Royal Society: A Historical Review". Notes and Records of the Royal Society. 37 (2): 167–187.
doi:
10.1098/rsnr.1983.0009.
PMID11611151.
S2CID41437798.
^Year-book of the Royal Society of London: 1916. Adamant Media Corporation. 2001. p. 59.
ISBN978-0543925404.
Fellowship of the
Royal Society is open to
scientists,
engineers and technologists from the
United Kingdom and
Commonwealth of Nations, on the basis of having made "a substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathematics, engineering science and medical science".[4] Election to the Fellowship is highly regarded and sought after, bringing prestige to both the individual academically and the institution the Fellow is associated with.[5] For scientists in the United Kingdom, the recognition is considered second only to being awarded the
Nobel Prize.[6]
While there was no explicit prohibition of women as
Fellow of the Royal Society in its original charters and statutes, election to the fellowships was for much of the Society's history de facto closed to women. As a result of the dissolution of nunneries in connection with the
Dissolution of the Monasteries by
Henry VIII, and female exclusion from schools and universities, the formal education of British girls and women was effectively non-existent throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. Women slowly gained admittance to
learned societies in the UK starting in the 19th century, with the founding of the
Zoological Society of London in 1829 and the
Royal Entomological Society in 1833, both of which admitted women fellows from their inception.[7][8]
The first recorded question of women being admitted to the Royal Society occurred in 1900, when
Marian Farquharson, the first female fellow of the
Royal Microscopical Society, sent a letter to the Council of the Royal Society petitioning that "duly qualified women should have the advantage of full fellowship". In its reply, the Council stated that the question of women fellows "must depend on the interpretation to be placed upon the Royal Charters under which the Society has been governed for more than three hundred years".[7] When
Hertha Ayrton was nominated for fellowship in 1902, her candidature was turned down on the basis that as a married woman she had
no standing in law.[9] The
Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 made it illegal for an incorporated society to refuse admission on the grounds of an individual's sex or
marital status. While the Society acknowledged the provision of section 1 of the Act in 1925, in reply to a question originally put to them by the
Women's Engineering Society three years prior, it was not until 1943 that another woman was nominated for fellowship.
Kathleen Lonsdale and
Marjory Stephenson were duly elected in 1945, after a postal vote amending the Society's statutes to explicitly allow women fellows.[7][8]
As of 2020[update], a total of 198 women have been elected fellows. Two women have been elected under the Society's former Statute 12 regulation and two Honorary Fellows for their service to the cause of science. Another four women, from the
British Royal Family, have been either Royal Fellow or Patron of the Society. Thirty six more women have been elected as Foreign Members. Of the approximately 1,600 living fellows and foreign members in 2018, 8.5 per cent are women compared to 0.4% in 1945, according to a historical research project conducted by
Aileen Fyfe and
Camilla Mørk Røstvik.[3][10]
Between 1903 and 1996, Statute 12 of the Society permitted the council to elect someone who would not otherwise qualify for election under the normal criteria for "conspicuous service to the cause of science, or are such that their election would be of signal benefit to the Society". Statute 12 Fellows were replaced by the introduction of Honorary Fellows in 1997.[331]
Throughout its history, the Royal Society has elected a number of individuals to its Fellowship by virtue of their being a member of the
nobility.[338] Such elections were restricted first in 1874 to
princes and members of the
Privy Council, and subsequently in 1903 to princes of the British Royal Family only.[331][339] This has since been relaxed to allow the election of any member of the British Royal Family.[340] Those elected by virtue of their
royal blood or
marriage are known as Royal Fellows.[341] From the beginning of the practice of British
royal patronage in the 18th century,[342] the reigning monarch of
Great Britain (and since 1801 that of the United Kingdom), starting with
King George I,[343] has always served as patron of the Society.
^Ho, Peng Yoke (2005). Reminiscence of a roving scholar : science, humanities, and Joseph Needham. New Jersey: World Scientific Pub. Co. p. 168.
ISBN9789812565884.
^
abFerry, G. (14 July 2010). "The exception and the rule: women and the Royal Society 1945-2010". Notes and Records of the Royal Society. 64: S163–S172.
doi:
10.1098/rsnr.2010.0043.
S2CID74578967.
^Robertson, M. (1 November 1949). "Marjory Stephenson. 1885-1948". Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society. 6 (18): 562–577.
doi:
10.1098/rsbm.1949.0013.
S2CID162259455.
^Dodson, G. (1 December 2002). "Dorothy Mary Crowfoot Hodgkin, O.M. 12 May 1910 - 29 July 1994". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 48: 179–219.
doi:
10.1098/rsbm.2002.0011.
PMID13678070.
S2CID61764553.
^Beale, G. H. (1 November 1995). "Charlotte Auerbach. 14 May 1899-17 March 1994". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 41: 20–42.
doi:
10.1098/rsbm.1995.0002.
S2CID6892151.
^Goodwin, L. G.; Vickerman, K. (1 November 1992). "Ann Bishop. 19 December 1899-7 May 1990". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 38: 28–39.
doi:
10.1098/rsbm.1992.0002.
PMID11616217.
S2CID21848486.
^Morris, J. G. (1 November 1997). "Florence Gwendolen Rees. 3 July 1906--4 October 1994: Elected F.R.S. 1971". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society: 445–459.
doi:
10.1098/rsbm.1997.0024.
S2CID70699996.
^Owen, M. (1 November 1995). "Dame Janet Maria Vaughan, D. B. E. 18 October 1899-9 January 1993". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 41: 482–498.
doi:
10.1098/rsbm.1995.0029.
S2CID32982711.
^Fettes, D. J.; Plant, J. A. (1 November 1995). "Janet Watson. 1 September 1923-29 March 1985". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 41: 500–514.
doi:
10.1098/rsbm.1995.0030.
S2CID72513584.
^"Fiona Fox". royalsociety.org. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
^Crosland, M. (1 March 1983). "Explicit Qualifications as a Criterion for Membership of the Royal Society: A Historical Review". Notes and Records of the Royal Society. 37 (2): 167–187.
doi:
10.1098/rsnr.1983.0009.
PMID11611151.
S2CID41437798.
^Year-book of the Royal Society of London: 1916. Adamant Media Corporation. 2001. p. 59.
ISBN978-0543925404.