RECORD 



OF 



THE ROYAL SOCIETY. 



SOME ACCOUNT OF THE FOUNDATION AND EARLY 

 HISTORY OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY. 



The " first ground and foundation of the Royal Society " is given 

 by Wallis* as follows : 



" About the year 1645, while I lived in London (at a time when, by 

 our civil wars, academical studies were much interrupted in both our 

 Universities), beside the conversation of divers eminent divines, as to 

 matters theological, I had the opportunity of being acquainted with 

 divers worthy persons, inquisitive into natural philosophy, and other 

 parts of human learning ; and particularly of what hath been called 

 the New Philosophy or Experimental Philosophy. We did by agree- 

 ments, divers of us, meet weekly in London on a certain day [and 

 hour, under a certain penalty, and a weekly contribution for the 

 charge of experiments, with certain rules agreed upon amongst us],f 

 to treat and discourse of such affairs ; of which number were Dr. John 

 Wilkins (afterwards Bishop of Chester [then chaplain to the Prince 

 Elector Palatine, in London]), Dr. Jonathan Goddard, Dr. George Ent, 

 Dr. Glisson, Dr. Merret (Drs. in Physick), Mr. (Samuel Foster, then 

 Professor of Astronomy at Gresham College, Mr. Theodore Haak$ (a 

 German of the Palatinate, and then resident in London, who, I think, 

 gave the first occasion, and first suggested those meetings), and many 

 others. 



" These meetings we held sometimes at Dr. Goddard's lodgings in 

 Wood Street (or some convenient place near), on occasion of his keep- 



* Dr. John Wallis, mathematician, b. 1616, d. 1703. The passage quoted is 

 from his letter to Dr. Thomas Smith, dated January 29, 1696-7, published in 

 Thomas Hearne's Appendix to his preface to ' Peter Langtoft's Chronicle,' vol. 1, 

 p. 161, edit. London, 1725. 



f The passages in square brackets are taken from Wallis's ' A Defence of the 

 Royal Society,' 1678. 



Misprinted Hank. 



B 



