The Royal Institution

Nigel Cooper

January 2002

It has often been a cause of uproar and upset in the scientific community, whilst fostering debate amongst the public. Each year, the Royal Institution Christmas lectures try to bring science to the people. In 2001, Sir John Sulston went as far as tackling the secrets of life itself. And he no doubt wished to meet the objectives of an institution founded on encouraging public debate.

18th century – birth of the Institution

In 1799, six years before Nelson won the battle of Trafalgar, the war with France had already seriously affected trade between Britain and mainland Europe. As a consequence, Britain was struggling to rely on its own agricultural output. It was this situation that inspired scientists Benjamin Thompson, Joseph Banks and Thomas Bernard to create a scientific institution to tackle the problem. The institution would be complete with laboratories, lecture theatres, libraries and offices. Thompson, (aka Count Rumford) aimed to improve agriculture through science and to demonstrate to the public that science could help with 'the common purposes of life'. The three founders appointed scientist Thomas Garnett as Professor of Chemistry and Natural Philosophy. In March 1800, he gave his first lecture.

19th century – string of successes

In 1802, Humphrey Davy replaced Thomas Garnett as Professor of Chemistry. although just 24 years old, within five years he had discovered the elements sodium and potassium and later went on to find barium, calcium and magnesium. He was knighted in 1812. Another important event happened that year. Apprentice bookbinder, Michael Faraday, was so inspired by one of Davy's lectures, that he wrote to the Royal Institution and asked for a job. He was appointed chemical assistant in 1813, and was to become eminent in his own right.

Whilst Davy went on to produce life-saving innovations such as the mining safety lamp, Faraday discovered electro-magnetic rotations and consequently invented the electric motor. He made the dynamo and transformer and during the 1850s and 60s developed the use of electric lights in lighthouses.

But it wasn't only the future of technology that Faraday would influence. He also shaped the structure of the Royal Institution itself. In 1826, the young scientist initiated Friday evening discourses for adults and Christmas lectures for children. These Christmas lectures came at a time when organised education for children was scarce. The tradition of the discourses and the lectures continues to this day.

In 1896, James Dewar, inventor of the thermos flask, became the first director of the Davy Faraday Research Laboratory, or DFRL. Today this is a productive research group within the Royal Institution. It's responsible for a range of acclaimed scientific publications, on subjects such as superconductivity and x-rays.

The technique now used to determine the structure of DNA, x-ray crystallography, was pioneered at the Royal Institution by father and son, Sir William and Sir Lawrence Bragg. The society has also been home to a string of Nobel Prize winners. They include Lord Raleigh, who discovered the element argon, and Lord Porter who studied fast chemical reactions initiated by flash photolysis.

20th century – maintaining the vision

The Royal Institution now holds more lectures and discourses than ever before, but its emphasis remains the same – communicating scientific ideas to the public. Since 1966, the lectures have been broadcast on television over the Christmas and New Year period. And now there is increasing interest in them across the globe, including in Japan and Korea, where they are repeated in the summer.

In 1999, the Institution celebrated its bicentennial year and along with its usual lectures it began to run a new series, called 'Scientists for the New Century'. Now in its third year, the series aims to bring Britain's emerging younger scientists to the attention of the public. The monthly lectures, held at the Royal Institution in London, feature scientists under 40.

21st century – still causing a stir

The Institution's mission of delivering topical science has often led to controversy and the 2003 Christmas lectures Voyage in Space and Time are no exception.

Find out more

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Websites

The Royal Institution
www.rigb.org
Comprehensive site containing information of past, present and forthcoming lectures, a history, membership details and research information.

Royal Institution 2003 Christmas Lectures
The Voyage in Space and Time lectures probe space and attempt to answer some big questions.

Royal Institution 2002 Christmas Lectures
2002's Smart Stuff lectures reveal the molecular miracles behind everyday objects.

Royal Institution 2001 Christmas Lectures
The Secrets of Life lectures, by Sir John Sulston, former head of the Sanger Institute, Cambridge.

The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
www.www.sanger.ac.uk
Home page of the organisation that Sir John Sulston used to run – and one of the world's largest contributors to the Human Genome Project.

National Portrait Gallery
www.npg.org.uk/live/prelgeno.asp
Press release from the National Portrait Gallery discussing the genomic portrait of Sir John Sulston by artist Marc Quinn, blurring the boundaries between art and science.

Robots – Channel 4
www.channel4.com/robots
Channel 4's Robot website, discussing the work of the Royal Institution and the future of cybernetics. Features the chat room transcript of Professor Warwick, from Christmas 2001.

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