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Laboratory attendants in white (1909). From a photograph album compiled by Colonel Albert Ernest Hamerton, documenting the Royal Society Sleeping Sickness Commission, Uganda.
A celebration of Black science
The contributions and achievements of Black individuals and peoples to the history of science have often gone unrecognised.
By highlighting these achievements and providing richer, more diverse accounts of scientific history, we hope to start helping to redress the imbalance in historic and contemporary narratives of science and offer new and inspirational role models for future generations.
We are continuing our work to explore the Society’s history and to address barriers to participation for under-represented groups. For more information, please see our Diversity webpages.
A Celebration of Black Science
This online exhibit explores the scientific contributions and achievements of people of African and African-Caribbean descent, drawing on the Royal Society archives and other collections.
Twitter objects
For Black History Month in 2020, we looked through our collections for stories and uncovered some fascinating items.
- A coconut-bark hammock from the West Indies.
- Quassia amara, made famous by Surinamese healer, slave and botanist Kwasi Graman.
- 1730 illustration of the town of Guaspaltepeque, in Oaxaca State, Mexico.