It's possible that the Royal Society was one of the first documented aspirations toward Open Content; they imagined a network across the globe as a public enterprise, an "Empire of Learning". They also were one of the first documented cases of attempting to deal with having content available to address language and languages within the Sciences, and strove to remove language barriers. Dedicated to the free flow of information, the Royal Society despised secrecy and encouraged communication.
Several famous scientists were either the founding members or involved during its history. The early group included Robert Boyle, John Evelyn, Robert Hooke, William Petty, John Wallis, John Wilkins, Thomas Willis and Sir Christopher Wren. Isaac Newton demonstrated his theory of optics to them, and later became president of the society. The motto "Nullius in Verba" means literally "On the words of no one" signifying the Society's commitment to establishing the truth of scientific matters through experiment rather than through citation of authority. Although this seems obvious today, the philosophical basis of the Royal society differed from previous philosophies such as Scholasticism, which established scientific truth based on deductive logic, concordance with divine providence and the citation of such ancient authorities as Aristotle.
Thomas Bayes first presented his theorem at the society.
Major advances in cancer research and the development of advanced computer memories are among the scientific breakthroughs recognised today in the election of 44 new Fellows of the RoyalSociety.
To celebrate its 350th Anniversary Year in 2010, the RoyalSociety is seeking meeting proposals in all areas of science, engineering and technology that address global issues and map the future of the area over the next 20-30 years.
The RoyalSociety has produced an overview of the current state of scientific understanding of climate change to help non-experts better understand this complex area of science.
A formal Royal Charter of incorporation passed the Great Seal on 15 July 1662, creating "The RoyalSociety of London", with Lord Brouncker as the first President, and Robert Hooke was appointed as Curator of Experiments in November 1662.
A second Royal Charter was sealed on 23 April 1663, naming the King as Founder and changing the name to "The RoyalSociety of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge".
Desaguliers, a demonstrator for the RoyalSociety, was a prominent Freemason.
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