The Fellowship of the Royal Society was founded in 1660. It is composed of the most distinguished scientists from the United Kingdom, other Commonwealth countries and the Republic of Ireland. The election process for Fellows and Foreign Members is extremely rigorous and is based upon the established practice of peer review. A qualification for membership consists of having made "a substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathematics, engineering science and medical science". Once elected, Fellows of the Royal Society serve for life. Fellows designate themselves through the use of the letters FRS after their names. The premises of the Royal Society in London (first four properties only). ... Events Expulsion of the Carib indigenous people from Martinique by French occupying forces. ... The Commonwealth of Nations, usually known as The Commonwealth, is an association of independent sovereign states, almost all of which are former territories of the British Empire. ... Peer review (known as refereeing in some academic fields) is a scholarly process used in the publication of manuscripts and in the awarding of funding for research. ...

Famous Fellows

Many fellows are famous, and some have won a Nobel Prize (see Famous members of the Royal Society and Presidents of the Royal Society). Presidents are also fellows. Sir Edward Appletons medal Photographs of Nobel Prize Medals. ... The premises of the Royal Society in London (first four properties only). ... The President of the Royal Society (PRS) is the elected head of the Royal Society of London. ...

Some well-known living fellows include:

• Michael Ashburner
• David Attenborough
• Tim Berners-Lee
• Richard Dawkins
• Martin Fleischmann
• Stephen Hawking
• Winston Churchill
• David King
• Robert May
• Roger Penrose
• Martin Rees
• Frederick Sanger
• Ian Stewart
• John E. Sulston
• Margaret Thatcher

See the category for a more comprehensive list of Fellows of the Royal Society. Michael Ashburner (born May 23, 1942, Sussex, England) is a professor ofgenetics in the University of Cambridge and is the former head of the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI) of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL). ... Attenborough with a pair of albatrosses in the series Life in the Freezer Sir David Frederick Attenborough, OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS (born on May 8, 1926 in London, England) is the presenter of many ground-breaking and award winning BBC wildlife documentaries, and a former senior manager for the... Sir Tim Berners-Lee Sir Tim (Timothy John) Berners-Lee, KBE (TimBL or TBL) (b. ... Richard Dawkins Clinton Richard Dawkins DSc, FRS, FRSL (known as Richard Dawkins; born March 26, 1941) is an eminent British ethologist, evolutionary theorist, and popular science writer who holds the Charles Simonyi Chair in the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University. ... Martin Fleischmann (1927-) is a chemist at the University of Southampton who, while working with Stanley Pons of University of Utah, announced the discovery of cold fusion on March 23, 1989. ... Stephen Hawking in 2005 Professor Stephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, (born January 8, 1942) is one of the worlds leading theoretical physicists. ... Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British politician, best known as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. ... Professor Sir David King ScD FRS is Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government, and consequently head of the Office of Science and Technology. ... Robert McCredie Bob May, Baron May of Oxford OM AC Kt (born 8 January 1936 in Australia) is a cross-bench member of the British House of Lords and President of the Royal Society. ... Sir Roger Penrose, OM, FRS (born 8 August 1931) is an English mathematical physicist and Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford. ... The Right Honourable Martin John Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow, FRS (born 23 June 1942) is a professor of astronomy. ... Frederick Sanger, OM, CH, CBE, FRS (born 13 August 1918) is an English biochemist and currently the only person who has been awarded two Nobel prizes in Chemistry. ... Ian Stewart, FRS (b. ... Sir John Edward Sulston PhD,FRS (born 1942) was educated at Pembroke College, Cambridge graduating in 1963. ... Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925) is a British politician and a former barrister and chemist. ...

External links

• Directory of Fellows of the Royal Society and Foreign Members
• List of Royal Society Fellows 1660–2004
• Criteria for Membership of the Royal Society FRS
• Royal Society: Fellow of the Month