Three hundred and fifty years ago today, on 28th November 1660, The Royal Society was founded, following a lecture given by Christopher Wren at Gresham College in London. The ninth man listed among the 41 founding members was John Evelyn (1620-1706).
Two years after it was founded, in 1664, the Society published its first book: John Evelyn’s Sylva: or, a discourse of forest-trees, and the propagation of timber in his Majesty’s Dominions, &c.
The Society and its Fellows have played a significant role in some of the most fundamental, significant, and life-changing discoveries in scientific progress. Among its Fellows it includes numerous historical luminaries, notably Robert Boyle, Issac Newton, Charles Babbage, Charles Darwin and Robert Hooke, while living fellows include Richard Dawkins, Stephen Hawking and John Krebs.
The New Sylva will be published in 2014 to celebrate the 350th publication of Evelyn’s influential Sylva. Read more
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