Certificates of Election and Candidature

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0117 EC
Held at	: Royal Society   Click here to find out how to view this collection at https://royalsociety.org/collections/ ›
Full title	: Certificates of Election and Candidature
Date(s)	: 1731 -
Level of description	: Collection (fonds)
Extent	: 7, 338 certificates
Name of creator(s)	: Royal Society
Detailed catalogue	: Click here to view repository detailed catalogue

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

Certificates of Election were created as a result of a meeting of Council on 7 December 1730 when a draft of a new statute was proposed with the intention of limiting membership of the Society. The Statute proposed that each candidate for election should be recommended by three existing Fellows, 'who shall deliver to one of the Secretaries a paper signed by themselves, signifying the name, addition, profession, occupation, and chief qualifications of the Candidate for election, as also notifying the usual place of habitation'. Such certificates were dated and hung in the meeting room for ten gatherings of Fellows before being balloted, and bear the signatures of those Fellows supporting the candidate, with the date of election. Certificates were not made compulsory until 1847 when new statutes were enacted. Therefore there may not be a certificate for every Fellow elected in the period 1731 to 1849.

The number of Fellows elected annually varies, and the Statutes have to be changed to accommodate the changed numbers. In 2006 the numbers of Foreign Fellows were raised from 6 to 8, to take effect in 2007 (require amendment of Statute 3 (c) and Standing Orders 22 c) and 26.)

The number of new nominations made in any year is unlimited. Once nominated, candidates remain eligible for election for seven years. If not elected within this period, an individual may be proposed as a candidate again after a break of three years and then remains eligible for election for a period of three years. This three year cycle may be repeated without limit eg there were 564 candidates for election as Fellows in 2005. The Society does not provide details of the identities of nominated candidates to anybody outside the Fellowship, except those individuals consulted in confidence during the refereeing process.

The nominations process was made easier in 2001 by reducing from six to two the number of Fellows signatures required on a certificate of proposal. This change was introduced because it was felt that the larger number of signatures might discriminate against minorities in science, such as women, those in new and emerging subjects or those in institutions and organisations with few existing Fellows.

In addition, the President of the Royal Society periodically writes to Vice-Chancellors, and Chairs and Chief Executives of Research Councils, to encourage them to put forward names of potential candidates. Any suggestions generated through this route are considered before 30 September by the President, Vice-Presidents and one or more members of the Council of the Royal Society. These suggestions, if thought suitable, then follow the normal nomination process, with the proposing and seconding of a candidate by existing Fellows.

The Society has also broadened the scope of candidates to encourage nomination and election of scientists, technologists and engineers whose major contribution to their subject has been other than through original research, for example by leadership, inspiration or furtherance of science in a senior managerial or administrative capacity, or through science communication. The proposing Fellow is responsible for informing the candidate that he or she has been nominated. The proposer must ensure, in consultation with the candidate, that all information relevant to the nomination is up to date.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Certificates of Election and Candidature for the Royal Society. Early certificates are entirely manuscript, i.e. vols. 1-8 (1731-1840). Printed forms of ordinary certificates appear in volume 9 from November 1839 (candidates elected in 1840); printed forms for 'privileged class' elections were used from 1875, and for Foreign Membership from 1895. Not all certificates represent elected Fellows; a small percentage are for unsuccessful candidates.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English, Latin, French, German and Italian

System of arrangement:

Annual. Up to 1820 they are arranged by date of proposal, then a period of variation in ordering until 1828, from which time they are arranged consistently by date of election, and in alphabetical order of candidates names within election dates.

Conditions governing access:

50 year rule applies

Conditions governing reproduction:

50 year rule applies

Finding aids:

The citation on each certificate has been transcribed. The names of the proposers of each Fellow have also been transcribed. However, due to the 50 year closure rule the information on proposers from certificates less than 50 years old has not been transcribed.

Digital images of each certificate have been attached to the majority of the catalogue records. Again the 50 year rule applies so that images of certificates less than 50 years old have not been attached. The reverse of a certificate has been digitized where it contains further information on a candidate - 20th century certificates have directions for completion on their reverse, these have not been digitized.

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Allied Materials

Related material:

Where the citation refers to a list of publications (usually 20th century certificates) this has been transferred to the Personal Information File (PIF) for that Fellow.

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Copied from the Royal Society catalogue by Sarah Drewery.

Rules or conventions:
General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal Place and Corporate Names 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions:
Feb 2009.