History of science resources
Discover our collection catalogues, digital resources as well as blog posts, videos and images. Our print store is also available here.
The Royal Society supports activities in the history of science and related disciplines by making available resources and funding, by celebrating history through awards, and in hosting public events. On this page you will find a wide range of online resources related to the history of science, to aid remote research, to explain, and to inspire. Find information catalogues, full text manuscripts and books, and interpretative material here.
Explore our resources
![Drawing in a page](/-/media/collections/history-of-science-resources/ms_928_2_111.jpg)
Search the archives
Search our extensive records documenting the activities of the Society and its Fellows since the…
![Drawings of insects](/-/media/collections/history-of-science-resources/printed-works.jpg)
Search printed works
Explore the library collection of printed books and periodicals.
![Painting of Dorothy Hodgkin](/-/media/collections/history-of-science-resources/hodgkin_p152.jpg)
Search past Fellows
Find information on all past Fellows, over 7,000 eminent scientists and natural philosophers from…
![Illustration of weath](/-/media/collections/digital-resources/science-in-the-making-2.jpg)
Science in the making
Access high-resolution digital images of Royal Society manuscripts.
![Rock specimens](/-/media/collections/history-of-science-resources/w-hamilton-campi-phlegraei-rock-specimens-1776.jpg)
Picture library
Explore over 10,000 high resolution images hand-picked from our historic collections.
![Google Arts & Culture page](/-/media/collections/digital-resources/google-arts-and-culture-700x534.jpg)
Google Arts & Culture
Discover our digital exhibits on Google Arts & Culture.
![Melicérta, from 'The Drawings of the Rotifer' by Charles Thomas Hudson. Catalogue reference: MS/132](/-/media/collections/turning-pages/melicerta.png)
Turning the pages
Leaf through digital replicas of some of our treasures.
![Chromatic scale poster](/-/media/collections/history-of-science-resources/chromatic-scle-poster.jpg)
Print Store
We offer thousands of images from the Royal Society's archive as prints, canvases and cards.
![A hand on a book page](/-/media/collections/history-of-science-resources/objectivity.jpg)
Objectivity YouTube channel
A series of videos about science treasures. In each video we uncover amazing objects and…
![front page of the first Philosophical Transactions](/-/media/collections/digital-resources/the-philosophical-transactions.jpg)
The Philosophical Transactions
Search through over 350 years of the scientific journal of the Royal Society.
![The Wolfson Foundation logo on a dark background](/-/media/collections/wolfson/wf-colour-rev.jpg)
The Wolfson Foundation archive
Read a collection of stories and documents from the Wolfson Foundation's archive.
![David Attenborough](/-/media/about-us/programmes/people-of-science/david-attenborough.jpg)
People of Science
Brian Cox interviews David Attenborough, Venki Ramakrishnan, and other leading scientists.
![Screen capture from University of Cambridge video Dish Life](/-/media/awards/hero-banners/wilkins-bernal-medawar.jpg)
Wilkins-Bernal-Medawar Medal and Lecture
This prize lecture is given on a subject relating to the history of science, philosophy of science…
![Lisa Jardine. Image courtesy of Des Willie ©2014](/-/media/grants/lisa-jardine/lisa-jardine.jpg)
The Lisa Jardine Grant Scheme
Travel grants to support archival research and career development in interdisciplinary studies.
![A drawing of the eye from Young's paper](/-/media/blogs/2015/03/michael-land-350-blog.jpg)
Notes & Records
The Royal Society journal of the history of science.
![Biographical Memoirs Crick Watson](/-/media/collections/history-of-science-resources/biomems-generic-image-3.jpg)
Biographical memoirs
A unique compilation of memoirs celebrating the lives and scientific achievements of Fellows of…
![Cephalopoda](/-/media/journals/publishing/8644.jpg)
History of scientific journals
Over 350 years of scientific publishing.
History of science blog posts
View all posts![](-/media/blogs/2024/08/observing-relativity/observing-relativity-1.jpg)
![Vida Milovanovic](https://apidyn.royalsociety.org/images/blogs/vida-milovanovic.jpg)
Vida Milovanovic
In History of science
6 min read
Observing general relativity
How did a solar eclipse in May 1919 help to prove Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity?…
![](-/media/blogs/2024/07/norwegian-ice/norwegian-ice-1.jpg)
![Rupert Baker](https://apidyn.royalsociety.org/images/blogs/rupert-baker.jpg)
Rupert Baker
In History of science
5 min read
Norwegian ice
Rupert Baker retraces the footsteps of James David Forbes FRS, who travelled to Norway in 1851 on…
![](-/media/blogs/2024/07/fossil-wood/fossil-wood-1.jpg)
![Katherine Marshall](https://apidyn.royalsociety.org/images/blogs/katherine-marshall.jpg)
Katherine Marshall
In History of science
5 min read
Fossil wood
Katherine Marshall discovers a beautiful seventeenth-century treatise on petrified wood in the…
![](-/media/blogs/2024/07/electoral-reform/electoral-reform-1.jpg)
![Virginia Mills](https://apidyn.royalsociety.org/images/blogs/virginia-mills.jpg)
Virginia Mills
In History of science
5 min read
Electoral reform
Virginia Mills looks at the history of Fellowship elections to the Royal Society, including some…
![](-/media/blogs/2024/07/maharaja-observatory/maharaja-observatory-1.jpg)
![Hirra Ateeq](https://apidyn.royalsociety.org/images/blogs/hirra-ateeq.jpg)
Hirra Ateeq
In History of science
4 min read
The Maharaja’s observatory
Initiated in 1837 by Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma, Maharaja of the Kingdom of Travancore, the…
History of science
The Royal Society uses its unmatched historical collections as a resource for the academic study in the history of science and other disciplines, and as a source of inspiration for the wider public.