Royal Society 350th anniversary stamps

Search:

Science stamps mark the Royal Society's 350th anniversary

The 350th anniversary of the Royal Society is being celebrated by Royal Mail with a new split-stamp design.
The ten 1st Class stamps feature significant figures from the Royal Society whose portraits are paired with dramatic and colourful images representing their achievements. Click on the images below to find out more about them.
Page 1 of 1
Sort By

Robert Boyle - one of the first modern chemists. Built a ‘vacuum chamber’ or air pump with Robert Hooke to prove that a vacuum is possible in nature and proposed ‘Boyle’s Law’.
Isaac Newton – one of the greatest scientific figures of all time. Described how gravity works, laid down the three laws of motion and built the first practical reflecting telescope.
Benjamin Franklin – major enlightenment figure who made landmark discoveries in electricity leading to his election to the Royal Society. His legacy lives on in the lightning conductor.
Edward Jenner – sometimes called ‘the Father of Immunology’. Worked out that exposure to the cattle disease cowpox gave immunity to smallpox, using this idea to develop the first successful vaccine.
Charles Babbage – devised a Difference Engine to accurately produce mathematical tables; his later Analytical Engine was the world’s first programmable computer.
Alfred Russel Wallace – travelled widely to study flora and fauna, writing to Charles Darwin outlining his ideas on evolution, which prompted Darwin to publish his own theory of natural selection.
Joseph Lister – early proponent of germ theory and ideas on how infections spread by microorganisms. He pioneered the use of carbolic acid to clean wounds, instruments and hands.
Ernest Rutherford – key figure who conducted experiments to unlock the structure of the atom. His model of the atom remains the symbol for atomic energy today.
Dorothy Hodgkin – pioneered the use of X-ray crystallography to determine structure of biomolecules, paving the way for the development of new drugs and treatments.
Nicholas Shackleton – demonstrated that Earth’s climate is controlled by variations in our orbit around the Sun by studying tiny fossil shells on ocean floors.
Robert Boyle - one of the first modern chemists. Built a ‘vacuum chamber’ or air pump with Robert Hooke to prove that a vacuum is possible in nature and proposed ‘Boyle’s Law’.
Robert Boyle - one of the first modern chemists. Built a ‘vacuum chamber’ or air pump with Robert Hooke to prove that a vacuum is possible in nature and proposed ‘Boyle’s Law’.

Page 1 of 1
Sort By

About us

Learn about our mission to expand the frontiers of knowledge.

President

Read about our President, Sir Paul Nurse

Latest news

Objects in Space land at the Royal Society 10 February 2012
New exhibition displays largest British meteorite for the first time in public
In the jungle no one can hear you scream 08 February 2012
Scientists have discovered the world's first primate that communicates using ultrasound, reports Royal Society journal Biology Letters.
Royal Society says new neuroscience research likely to improve the lives of our armed forces 07 February 2012
Scientists are hopeful that advances in our understanding of the human brain will improve the lives and performance of the UK’s armed forces however they have warned that careful consideration should be given to how research is prioritised so as not to come at a cost to other applications.