Scientists in society: The Royal Society of South Africa

Abstract

The full account of how the Royal Society of South Africa acquired its Charter and Statutes in 1908 is given here for the first time. The article explains the socio-political context in which the Society was founded in 1908 and analyses the legacies of other learned societies in southern Africa—particularly the South African Philosophical Society which was established in 1877—that preceded it. The relationship between the Royal Society of South Africa, the Royal Society of London and similar societies is briefly examined. As the premier South African multidisciplinary scientific society during the twentieth century, the Royal Society of South Africa has contributed to the intellectual vibrancy of the country as well as to its national research output, and the institutional transformations and challenges relating to the Society over the past one hundred years are explored¹.