The President of the Royal Society (PRS) is the elected head of the Royal Society of London. The position is now awarded to a member of the scientific community of the British Commonwealth for a period of five years, and is one of the highest honours that can be bestowed upon a scientist. The current President is the zoologist Lord May of Oxford.
1778-1820 Sir Joseph BanksSir Joseph Banks ( February 13, 1743 June 19, 1820) was the British naturalist and botanist on Cook's first great voyage ( 1768- 1771) and some 75 species bear Banks' name. He is credited with the introduction to the West of eucalyptus, acacia, mimosa, an
1820-1820 William Hyde WollastonFor the English philosophical writer, see William Wollaston. William Hyde Wollaston ( August 6, 1766 December 22, 1828) was an English chemist who is famous for discovering two chemical elements and for developing a way to process platinum ore. He was bor
1820-1827 Sir Humphry DavySir Humphry Davy ( December 17, 1778 May 29, 1829), often incorrectly spelled Humphrey was an English chemist. He was born in Penzance, Cornwall, England. Davy became well known owing to his experiences with the physiological action of some gases, includi
1827-1830 Davies Gilbert
1830-1838 HRH The Duke of SussexPrince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex ( 27 January 1773- 21 April 1843), was the sixth son of King George III of the United Kingdom and his consort, Queen Charlotte. He was the only surviving son of George III who did not pursue an army or naval caree
1838-1848 The Marquess of Northampton
1848-1854 The Earl of RosseWilliam Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse ( June 17, 1800 October 31, 1867) was an Irish astronomer. He became the third Earl of Rosse when his father died in 1841. Prior to this, his title was "Lord Oxmantown". In the 1840s, he built his "Leviathan of Parsonsto
1854-1858 The Lord WrottesleyJohn Wrottesley, 2nd Baron Wrottesley ( August 5 1798 October 27 1867) was a British astronomer. He succeeded his father as Baron Wrottesley on March 16 1841. He was a founding member of the Royal Astronomical Society and served as its president from 1841
1858-1861 Benjamin Collins Brodie
1861-1871 Sir Edward SabineSir Edward Sabine ( October 14, 1788 May 26, 1883) was an Irish astronomer, scientist, ornithologist and explorer. He was born in Dublin and died at East Sheen in Surrey. Of Sabine's scientific work two branches in particular deserve very high credit Dete
1871-1873 Sir George Biddell AirySir George Biddell Airy ( July 27, 1801 January 2, 1892) was British Astronomer Royal from 1835 to 1881. He was born at Alnwick, one of a long line of Airys who traced their descent back to a family of the same name residing at Kentmere, in Westmorland, i
