The Royal Society David Attenborough Award and Lecture is awarded to Professor Hannah Fry for her prolific science communication activity as the foremost populariser of maths in the country who continues to inspire young people to pursue maths and physics in fun and exciting
Born
#OnThisDay
in 1887 was Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan. Though he had very little formal training, his work was substantial, often using methods that were completely novel. In 1918 he became one of the youngest Fellows of the Royal Society.
The European Organization for Nuclear Research (
@CERN
) was officially established
#OnThisDay
in 1954. CERN is home to the Large Hadron Collider - the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator:
"Don't be afraid of hard work. Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Don't let others discourage you or tell you that you can't do it." Gertrude B Elion ForMemRS, inventor of immunosuppressant drugs, born
#OnThisDay
in 1918
#WomenInSTEM
Professor Anthony Fauci ForMemRS becomes a Foreign Member of the Royal Society. He was a key advisor to seven Presidents on global HIV/AIDS issues and on preparedness against emerging infectious disease threats, and served as the Chief Medical Advisor to President Joe Biden.
Born
#OnThisDay
in 1912 was Alan Turing FRS. Celebrated as "Father of computer science, mathematician, logician, wartime codebreaker, victim of prejudice", he made foundational contributions to artificial intelligence & theoretical biology during his short career.
John Flamsteed FRS, the first Astronomer Royal was born
#OnThisDay
1646. His accomplishments include a 3,000-star catalogue, Catalogus Britannicus, and a star atlas called Atlas Coelestis, the establishment of the Royal Observatory and the first observations of Uranus
Happy birthday, Professor Stephen Hawking FRS! The inspirational British theoretical physicist turns 76 today. Here's a fantastic archive pic from 1976
Royal Society University Research Fellow Professor Ventsislav Valev and his colleagues have experimentally confirmed the existence of a physical effect first theorised 45 years ago, using light particles to probe the invisible energy states of molecules:
A team led by scientists at Bath has discovered how light particles can be used to reveal ‘hidden’ energy states of molecules.
The discovery could serve to analyse the composition of pharmaceuticals and identify illegal drugs and explosives.
Happy
#DarwinDay
! Watch the moment Sir David Attenborough reads from On the Origin of Species & discusses the great legacy of his inspiration.
Our six-part
#PeopleOfScience
series with
@ProfBrianCox
& guests - now available to view worldwide on
@YouTube
Henry Briggs, the English mathematician who changed John Napier's logarithms into base ten logarithms, was born in February 1561. He was the first Professor of Geometry at
@GreshamCollege
, where the Royal Society was founded 63 years later
#Histsci
#OnThisDay
in 1859, Charles Darwin's landmark book 'On the Origin of Species' was first published. The work is one of the foundations of evolutionary biology, and one of the most important scientific works of the 19th century.
#HistoryOfScience
Many people will know Beatrix Potter for her marvellous illustrated works. We’re celebrating her birth
#OnThisDay
in 1866 because she was also a skilled scientific illustrator, conservationist and scientist as well… and we love her books
#WomenInSTEM
Born
#OnThisDay
in 1867 was Marie Skłodowska–Curie, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the only woman to win twice and the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two disciplines: Physics for her work on radioactivity, and Chemistry for her discovery of radium and polonium.
Congratulations to the winner of the 2019 Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize…
Caroline Criado Perez (
@CCriadoPerez
) - Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men
#SciBooks
Born
#OnThisDay
in 1934 was astronomer, astrobiologist and science communicator Carl Sagan. He worked on the Viking and Mariner missions, and the Pioneer plaque and Voyager Golden Record, messages from humanity that could possible be understood by extraterrestrial intelligences.
Born
#OnThisDay
in 1900 was Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin. In her doctoral thesis she concluded stars are primarily composed of hydrogen & helium, an idea dismissed by the establishment of the day. It was later described as "the most brilliant PhD thesis ever written in astronomy."
In 1809
#OnThisDay
, the great naturalist, zoolologist and geologist Charles Darwin was born. Here's Sir David Attenborough talking about his magnum opus, On the Origin of Species. See the full video here:
#TheOriginOfSpecies
#CharlesDarwin
#DarwinDay
Rosalind Franklin, chemist & X-ray crystallographer, was born
#OnThisDay
in 1920. Her work on X-ray diffraction images of DNA helped lead to the discovery of the structure of DNA, but her efforts were only recognised posthumously.
#RosalindFranklin
On the first day of the
#12DaysOfScience
, science gave to me: Isaac Newton sitting under a tree (tree not pictured). Happy birthday to Sir Isaac Newton PRS, born
#OnThisDay
in 1642. Find out more about his legendary apple tree on our blog:
If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, it will impact on scientific research immediately and could take years to rebuild. Our factsheet explains why leaving the EU with
#nodeal
is a bad deal for science
#brexit
We are very happy to announce that
@theAliceRoberts
has been awarded the Royal Society David Attenborough Award and Lecture for her outstanding contributions to public engagement ranging across medicine, anatomy, biology, evolution & archaeology.
#RSMedals
This is incredible.
Jocelyn Bell Burnell FRS has donated her Breakthrough Prize to establish the
#BellBurnellFund
with
@PhysicsNews
supporting PhD physics students from under-represented groups, including female students, BAME students and students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Remember last year when Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell was awarded the Breakthrough Prize for the discovery of radio pulsars? She decided to donate ALL of her £2.3m Breakthrough Prize money to us. 2/5
#OnThisDay
in 1963, cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space, orbiting the Earth 48 times in the Vostok 6 space capsule. Tereshkova remains the youngest woman to reach space, and the only woman to fly a solo space mission.
#SpaceExploration
Rosalind Franklin, the renowned scientist, was born
#OnThisDay
in 1920. Her research and insight contributed directly to two Nobel Prize awards. One for the discovery on DNA’s double helix and Aaron Klug FRS’s award for the molecular structure of viruses
#WomenInSTEM
Born
#OnThisDay
in 1850 was mathematician Sofia Kovalevskaya. She was the first woman to be awarded a PhD in mathematics, and one of the first women to work as an editor at a scientific journal.
#HistoryOfScience
- UK’s annual share of EU research funding has fallen by half a billion Euros since 2015
- Almost a 40% drop in UK applications to Horizon 2020
- 35% fewer scientists coming to the UK through key schemes
Read the full analysis:
#OnThisDay
in 1963, cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space, orbiting the Earth 48 times in the Vostok 6 space capsule. Tereshkova remains the youngest woman to reach space, and the only woman to fly a solo space mission.
Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus FRS, Director General of the World Health Organization, has been made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society in recognition of an outstanding career which has benefitted health worldwide.
#RSFellows
"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little... who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science."
Charles Darwin FRS born
#onthisday
in 1809
#DarwinDay
Born
#OnThisDay
in 1942 was renowned physicist and science writer Stephen Hawking FRS. His contributions to research, like his work on black holes, and the public understanding of science made him a household name. His book, 'A Brief History of Time', was a global bestseller.
Happy birthday to Sir Isaac Newton PRS, born on Christmas Day 1642! One of the most influential scientific minds in history, his work spanned optics, colour theory, planetary motion and gravitation, calculus and classical mechanics, as well as the now-debunked field of alchemy.
#OnThisDay
in 1858, a seminal journal article comprised of papers by Alfred Russel Wallace FRS and Charles Darwin FRS on the theory of evolution by natural selection was published by the
@LinneanSociety
, the first public announcement of the theory.
Lynn Margulis, the biologist who worked on symbiosis in evolution, was born
#OnThisDay
in 1938. Her work, which asserted that features of living cells were once independent bacteria, was dismissed for years before becoming accepted thanks to genetic evidence.
#WomenInSTEM
If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, it will impact on scientific research immediately and could take years to rebuild. Our factsheet explains why leaving the EU with
#nodeal
is a bad deal for science
#brexit
Dr Jess Wade is awarded the Royal Society Rosalind Franklin Award and Lecture for her achievements in functional materials and her outstanding project which will support early career women scientists to pursue academic careers in materials sciences.
#RSMedals
#OnThisDay
in 1859, Charles Darwin's landmark book 'On the Origin of Species' was first published. The work is one of the foundations of evolutionary biology, and one of the most important scientific works of the 19th century.
#HistoryOfScience
Born
#OnThisDay
in 1914 was actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr. As well as acting in 30 films, during the Second World War she co-developed a frequency-hopping guidance system for American torpedoes, the principles of which are used in Bluetooth and WiFi technologies today.
We're celebrating
#BlackHistoryMonth
by highlighting some of the incredible contributions past black scientists, mathematicians and engineers have made to the modern world. We'll add new figures to this thread daily over the next few weeks.
James Prescott Joule FRS was born
#OnThisDay
in 1818. The Salford-born mathematician, physicist and brewer worked to understand heat. His work is crucial to the 1st law of thermodynamics. The SI unit for for energy is named in his honour:
"Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu Herefordshire wgah'nagl fhtagn."
Scientists have described a new species of fossil echinoderm, called 'Sollasina cthulhu' in Herefordshire, UK. Cthulhu is closely related to sea cucumbers
#cthulu
Physicist & Nobel Laureate Paul Dirac FRS was born
#OnThisDay
in 1902. He is known for his exploration of quantum mechanics & predicting antimatter. He was also known for his quiet nature, with his colleagues jokingly defining a unit called a 'dirac' which was one word per hour.
Sir Patrick Vallance FRS and Sir Christopher Whitty FRS are jointly awarded the Royal Medal 2023 for their pivotal role in ensuring that the UK’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has benefitted from the very best science and evidence.
#RSMedals
Today in 1922, the Nobel Committee announced that Albert Einstein had been awarded the Nobel Prize. He won the Prize "for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect."
#OnThisDay
We are very happy to announce that astrophysicist Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell DBE FRS is winner of the Royal Society's Copley Medal for her work on the discovery of pulsars, one of the 20th century's major astronomical discoveries
#RSMedals
#OnThisDay
in 1949, Fred Hoyle FRS coined the phrase 'the big bang' in a talk for BBC Radio, using the term to differentiate from the 'steady-state' theory. Below is the Hubble eXtreme Deep Field, showing some of the oldest and most distant objects ever identified.
#Astronomy
In 1809
#OnThisDay
, the great Charles Darwin was born. Here's Sir David Attenborough describing Darwin as "the founding father of scientific zoology and botany". See the full video here
#TheOriginOfSpecies
#DarwinDay
India has become the first nation to land a mission to the Moon in the lunar south pole region. The Chandrayaan-3 mission made a successful landing on the lunar surface today:
#SpaceExploration
?
"Read Euler, read Euler, he is the master of us all." said Pierre-Simon Laplace.
Leonhard Euler FRS, one of the most important mathematicians in history, was born
#onthisday
in 1707.
A very strong argument for Alan Turing to be the face of the new £50 pound note here
What do you think? Who have you nominated?
#ThinkScience
#50poundnote
Rosalind Franklin, chemist & X-ray crystallographer, was born
#OnThisDay
100 years ago. Her work on X-ray diffraction images of DNA helped lead to the discovery of the structure of DNA, but her efforts were only recognised posthumously.
#RosalindFranklin
#OnThisDay
in 1858, modern biology took a huge step forward as papers by Charles Darwin FRS and Alfred Russel Wallace FRS outlining the theory of evolution by natural selection were read at the
@LinneanSociety
:
Rosalind Franklin, chemist & X-ray crystallographer, was born
#OnThisDay
in 1920. Her work on X-ray diffraction images of DNA helped lead to the discovery of the structure of DNA, but her efforts were only recognised posthumously.
#RosalindFranklin
Born
#OnThisDay
in 1831 was James Clerk Maxwell FRS. His most notable achievement was to formulate the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, bringing together for the first time electricity, magnetism, and light as manifestations of the same phenomenon.
#Physics
President of the Institute of Physics, Professor Julia Higgins, explores the life and work of Michael Faraday and how his curiosity and passion for communicating science inspires her:
#PeopleOfScience
Mary Lyon FRS was born
#OnThisDay
in 1925. Lyon was the discoverer of X-chromosome inactivation, sometimes also known as Lyonization, which the genetic process that leads to coloration like calico or tortoiseshell cats.
Throughout this
#BlackHistoryMonth
, we'll be adding to the thread below and highlighting the achievements of the Black scientists, mathematicians and engineers who have made their impact on the modern world.
#OnThisDay
in 1963, cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space, orbiting the Earth 48 times in the Vostok 6 space capsule. Tereshkova remains the youngest woman to reach space, and the only woman to fly a solo space mission.
Born
#OnThisDay
in 1892 was Alice Ball, who developed a novel therapy for leprosy. She was the first woman and first African American to receive a master's degree from the University of Hawaii, and was also the university's first female and African American chemistry professor.
Emmy Noether’s paper on differential invariants in the calculus of variations, was published
#OnThisDay
in 1918. Noether’s Theorem has been called “one of the most important mathematical theorems ever proved in guiding the development of modern physics"
#WomenInSTEM
#OnThisDay
in 1858, a seminal journal article comprised of papers by Alfred Russel Wallace FRS and Charles Darwin FRS on the theory of evolution by natural selection was published by the
@LinneanSociety
, the first public announcement of the theory.
#OnThisDay
in 1977, the Voyager 2 space probe was launched. The mission, which has been running for 45 years, is the only one to have visited the ice giants Uranus and Neptune, and the second to have left the heliosphere. The probe is currently over 12 billion miles from Earth.
Born
#OnThisDay
in 1831 was James Clerk Maxwell FRS. One of his most notable achievements was to formulate the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, bringing together for the first time electricity, magnetism, and light as manifestations of the same phenomenon.
#Physics
The great Charles Darwin FRS born
#OnThisDay
in 1809. This photo is from our archives, and was one of his favourite portraits. 'I like this photograph very much better than any other which have been taken of me.'
#DarwinDay
#HistoryOfScience
Born
#OnThisDay
in 1934 was astronomer, astrobiologist and science communicator Carl Sagan. He worked on the Viking and Mariner missions, and the Pioneer plaque and Voyager Golden Record, messages from humanity that could possible be understood by extraterrestrial intelligences.
Today is
#AdaLovelaceDay
, which celebrates the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering and maths. Follow our thread to uncover the stories of some of the most influential women in British science history...
Sir Christopher Whitty FRS is elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. He is a clinical epidemiologist currently serving as Chief Medical Officer for England.
#RSFellows