Royal Society

The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, claims to be the oldest learned society still in existence. It was founded in 1660. The Royal Irish Academy, founded in 1782, is closely affiliated. The Royal Society of Edinburgh (founded 1783) is a separate Scottish body.

Related Topics:
Learned society - 1660 - Royal Irish Academy - 1782 - Royal Society of Edinburgh - 1783

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Although a voluntary body, it serves as the national academy of sciences in the United Kingdom. It is a member organization of the Science Council.

Related Topics:
National academy - United Kingdom - Science Council

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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.

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