The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) is a British multi-disciplinary institution, based in London. The name Royal Society of Arts is frequently used by others for brevity, but the Society itself uses either its full name or the initials RSA (not least in the letters Fellows of the Society use after their name – FRSA). It was founded in 1754 and was granted a Royal Charter in 1847. Notable members have included Benjamin Franklin, Karl Marx, Adam Smith, William Hogarth, Charles Dickens and Guglielmo Marconi. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2391x1904, 1171 KB) Description: The Royal Society of Arts in London. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2391x1904, 1171 KB) Description: The Royal Society of Arts in London. ... Part of the London skyline viewed from the South Bank London is the most populous city in the European Union, with an estimated population on 1 January 2005 of 7,421,328 and a metropolitan area population of between 12 and 14 million. ... 1754 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... In the United Kingdom and Canada a Royal Charter is a charter granted by the Sovereign on the advice of the Privy Council, which creates or gives special status to an incorporated body. ... 1847 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Benjamin Franklin by Jean-Baptiste Greuze 1777 For the former mayor of Nepean, see Ben Franklin (politician) Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706–April 17, 1790) was one of the most prominent of Founders and early political figures and statesmen of the United States. ... Marxs view of history, which came to be called the materialist interpretation of history (and which was developed further as the philosophy of dialectical materialism) is certainly influenced by Hegels claim that reality (and history) should be viewed dialectically, through a clash of opposing forces. ... For other people named Adam Smith, see Adam Smith (disambiguation). ... William Hogarth, self-portrait, 1745 William Hogarth (November 10, 1697 – October 26, 1764) was a major British painter, engraver, pictorial satirist, and editorial cartoonist who has been credited as a pioneer in western sequential art. ... Dickens was a prolific writer who was almost always working on a new installment for a story and rarely missed a deadline. ... Guglielmo Marconi Guglielmo Marconi, GCVO (25 April 1874 – 20 July 1937) was an Italian electrical engineer and Nobel laureate, known for the development of a practical wireless telegraphy system commonly known as the radio. Marconi was President of the Accademia dItalia and a member of the Fascist Grand Council...

Notwithstanding its establishment credentials, the RSA has always been a radical body which has sought to challenge the status quo and change the world around it. Its founders spoke of the need to "embolden enterprise, enlarge science, refine art, improve our manufactures and extend our commerce", but also of the need to alleviate poverty and secure full employment.

History

The RSA was founded in 1754 as the by William Shipley as the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. In 1774, it moved into a new building near the Strand in central London which had been purpose-designed by the Adam Brothers (James Adam and Robert Adam) as part of their innovative Adelphi scheme. The address was 8 John Street (now 8 John Adam Street). The RSA is still in occupation, although it has also expanded into adjacent buildings in the intervening years (2-6 John Adam Street, plus 18 Adam Street). The original building includes the Great Room, which features a magnificent sequence of paintings by Irish artist James Barry: The progress of human knowledge and culture. The complex now incorporates the building which used to be the Adelphi Tavern (the first occupant of 18 Adam Street) and which is mentioned in Dickens's The Pickwick Papers. The former private dining room of the Tavern contains a magnificent Adam ceiling with painted roundels by the school of Kauffman and Zucchi. William Shipley was a drawing master from the English Midlands who, in 1754, founded what became the RSA (Royal Society of Arts, or Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce). ... 1774 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Strand is a famous road in London, linking Trafalgar Square to Fleet Street and the City of London. ... James Adam (21 July 1732 - 20 October 1794) was a Scottish architect and furniture designer, but was often overshadowed by his older brother and business partner, Robert Adam. ... Kedleston Hall. ... James Barry may refer to: James Barry, Irish-English painter James Barry, British surgeon This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, better known as The Pickwick Papers, is the first novel by Charles Dickens. ...

In its early years the Society offered prizes – which it called "premiums" – for people who could successfully achieve one of a number of published challenges. Captain William Bligh suffered the Mutiny on the Bounty while attempting to win a premium for shipping breadfruit from the East to the West Indies. He subsequently repeated the voyage and this time succeeded, and the Society awarded him the prize. The Society offered premiums for a very wide range of challenges including devising new forms of machinery and agricultural improvements. William Bligh in 1814 Vice Admiral of the Blue William Bligh, FRS (9 September 1754 - 7 December 1817) was an officer of the British Royal Navy and colonial administrator. ... The mutineers turning Lt Bligh and some of the officers and crew adrift from HMAV Bounty, 29 April 1789 The Mutiny on the Bounty was a mutiny aboard a British Royal Navy in 1789 that has been made famous by several books and films. ... Binomial name Artocarpus altilis (Parkinson) Fosberg The Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis),Malayalam: Kada-Chakkai; is a tree and fruit native to the east Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean islands. ... The Indies, on the display globe of the Field Museum, Chicago The Indies or East Indies (or East India) is a term used to describe lands of South and South-East Asia, occupying all of the former British India, the present Indian Union, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and... The Caribbean or the West Indies is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. ...

The RSA hosted Britain's first exhibition of contemporary art which was a big success. As a result, the Royal Academy of Arts was formed in 1768 by Sir Thomas Gainsborough and Sir Joshua Reynolds – two early members of the RSA – as a spin-off organisation. This article refers to an art institution in London. ... 1768 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Self-portrait, painted 1759 Blue boy, painted 1770 This article is about the artist Thomas Gainsborough. ... Sir Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (July 16, 1723–February 23, 1792) was the most important and influential of eighteenth-century English painters, specialising in portraits and promoting the Grand Style in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect. ...

The RSA is probably best known for creating the RSA Examinations Board, now part of the separate OCR (Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations) Board, following the Society's launch of the modern world's first public examinations in 1882. The OCR (Oxford, Cambridge and RSA) exam board is a British organisation that sets examinations and awards qualifications (including GCSEs and A-levels). ... 1882 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

It devised a scheme for commemorating the links between famous people and buildings by placing plaques on the walls – these continue today as "blue plaques" which are administered by a range of government bodies. The first of these plaques was, in fact, of red terracotta erected outside a former residence of Lord Byron (since demolished). The Society erected 36 plaques until, in 1901, responsibility for them was transferred to the London County Council (which changed the colour of the plaques to the current blue) and later the Greater London Council and most recently English Heritage. Similar schemes are now operated in all the constituent countries of the United Kingdom. A blue plaque showing information about The Spanish Barn at Torre Abbey in Torquay. ... London County Council emblem is still seen today on buildings, especially housing, from that era London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London from 1889 until 1965, when it was replaced by the Greater London Council. ... Arms of the Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. ... English Heritage is a United Kingdom government body with a broad remit of managing the historic environment of England. ...

The National Training School for Music in London was founded by the Society in 1876. This was later succeeded by the Royal College of Music. 1876 is a leap year starting on Saturday. ... The Royal College of Music from Prince Consort Road, London The front facade of the RCM The Royal College of Music is a prestigious music school located in Kensington, London. ...

In 1908, King Edward VII granted it the right to use the term "Royal" in its name. 1908 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Edward VII (Albert Edward) (9 November 1841–6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King of the Commonwealth Realms, and the Emperor of India. ...

The Society was instrumental in the preservation of West Wycombe, purchashing the entire village and handing it over the National Trust. West Wycombe is an area located just north of High Wycombe in the United Kingdom and is the home of the West Wycombe Caves. ... The standard of the National Trust The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as The National Trust, NT or The Trust, is an organisation which works to preserve and protect coastline, countryside and buildings in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. ...

In 1936, the RSA awarded the first distinctions of Royal Designers for Industry (RDI or HonRDI), reserved for "those very few who in the judgement of their peers have achieved 'sustained excellence in aesthetic and efficient design for industry'". The honour gained royal endorsement in 1937, and "The Faculty of Royal Designers for Industry" was established as an association in 1938 with the object of "furthering excellence in design and its application to industrial purposes": membership of the Faculty is automatic for (and exclusive to) all RDIs and HonRDIs. The Faculty currently has 98 Royal Designers (RDI) and 45 Honorary Royal Designers (non-UK citizens who are awarded the accolade of HonRDI): the number of designers who may hold the distinction of RDI at any one time is strictly limited. The Faculty consists of the world’s leading practitioners from fields as disparate as engineering, furniture, fashion and textiles, graphics, theatre and film design. Early members include Eric Gill, Enid Marx, Sir Frank Whittle and numerous other household names. Royal Designer for Industry is a distinction established by the Royal Society of Arts (or RSA) in 1936, to encourage a high standard of industrial design and enhance the status of designers. ... Arthur Eric Rowton Gill (February 22, 1882–November 17, 1940) was a British sculptor, typographer and engraver. ... Frank Whittle speaking to employees of NASA Glenn Research Center, USA, in 1946 Sir Frank Whittle, OM (June 1, 1907 - August 9, 1996) was a Royal Air Force officer who invented the jet engine. ...

The RSA today

The Society organises its work with five Manifesto Challenges:

• encouraging enterprise,
• moving towards a zero waste society,
• fostering resilient communities,
• developing a capable population, and
• advancing global citizenship.

Its long-term projects include delivering fresh drinking water to the developing world, rethinking intellectual property from first principles to produce a Charter (now published as the Adelphi Charter), and is exploring the feasibility of a national personal carbon trading system. It is also investigating schemes to manage international migration, is promoting the practise of inclusive design, and is working with artists to communicate ideas about environmental sustainability (see, for example, the RSA's WEEE Man). The Adelphi Charter on Creativity, Innovation and Intellectual Property is the result of a project commissioned by the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce, London, UK, and is intended as a positive statement of what good intellectual property policy is. ... WEEE Man WEEE is the European Community directive 2002/96/EC on waste electrical and electronic equipment which, together with the RoHS Directive 2002/95/EC, became European Law in February 2003, setting collection, recycling and recovery targets for all types of electrical goods. ...

The Society runs a public lecture programme which seeks to introduce new and challenging thinking. These lectures are published in its own Journal and made freely available on its website. An example of the Society's success is offered by the Oxford English Dictionary, which records the first use of the word "sustainability" in an environmental sense in the RSA's Journal in 1980. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is a comprehensive dictionary published by the Oxford University Press (OUP). ... Sustainability is a systemic concept, relating to the continuity of economic, social, institutional and environmental aspects of human society. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...

Each year a number of medals are awarded, including the Albert medal, the Benjamin Franklin Medal, and the Bicentennary Medal. Medal winners include Nelson Mandela, Sir Frank Whittle and Professor Stephen Hawking. There are two Albert Medals, both of which were instituted in the 1860s in the memory of Queen Victorias husband, HRH The Prince Albert, the Prince Consort, who died in 1861. ... The RSA Benjamin Franklin Medal was instituted in 1956 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Benjamin Franklins birth and the 200th anniversary of his membership of the Royal Society of Arts (or RSA). ... Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, (born July 18, 1918), was the first democratically elected President of South Africa, having previously been a prominent anti-apartheid activist there. ... Frank Whittle speaking to employees of NASA Glenn Research Center, USA, in 1946 Sir Frank Whittle, OM (June 1, 1907 - August 9, 1996) was a Royal Air Force officer who invented the jet engine. ... Hawking as himself on Star Trek: The Next Generation Professor Stephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, born January 8, 1942, in Oxford, England, is one of the worlds leading theoretical physicists. ...

The Society is Incorporated by Royal Charter, is registered in England as a Charity, and has more than 24,000 Fellows who live in around 70 countries. Its Patron is currently HM Queen Elizabeth II, its President is HRH Prince Philip, and its Chair is Sir Paul Judge. In the United Kingdom and Canada a Royal Charter is a charter granted by the Sovereign on the advice of the Privy Council, which creates or gives special status to an incorporated body. ... Allegorical personification of Charity as a mother with three infants by Anthony van Dyck Charity is a term in Christian theology (one of the three theological virtues), meaning loving kindness towards others; it is held to be the ultimate perfection of the human spirit, because it is said to both... Queen Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor), born 21 April 1926, is the Queen regnant of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and... HRH The Duke of Edinburgh His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (Philip Mountbatten), styled HRH The Duke of Edinburgh (born June 10, 1921), is the consort of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. ... Sir Paul Judge is a British businessman. ...

External links

Official

• RSA
• RSA history

Informational

• Royal Society of Arts Prize medal, 1801