The Royal Canadian Institute for Science (RCIScience), known also as the Royal Canadian Institute, is a Canadian

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

dedicated to connecting the public with Canadian

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

History

The organization was formed in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

as the Canadian Institute on June 20, 1849, by

Sandford Fleming Sir Sandford Fleming (January 7, 1827 – July 22, 1915) was a Scottish Canadian engineer and inventor. Born and raised in Scotland, he emigrated to colonial Canada at the age of 18. He promoted worldwide standard time zones, a prime meridian, ...

Kivas Tully Kivas Tully, ISO (1820 – 24 April 1905) was an Irish-Canadian architect. Life Born in Garryvacum in County Laois, Ireland, Kivas Tully was the son of John P. Tully, a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, and Alicia Willington. He trained as an archi ...

, and Hamilton Hartley Killaly. It was conceived of originally as an organization for surveyors, civil engineers, and architects practising in and about

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

.The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Makers of Canada: Index and Dictionary of Canadian History, by Various 2010
/ref> It quickly became more general in its scientific interests. A

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...

was granted on November 4, 1851, in which the objects of the organization are declared to be "the encouragement and general advancement of the physical sciences, the arts and the manufactures".History of the Royal Canadian Institute for Science
/ref> It is now the oldest scientific society in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Presidents

Notable past presidents include

John Charles Fields John Charles Fields, FRS, FRSC (May 14, 1863 – August 9, 1932) was a Canadian mathematician and the founder of the Fields Medal for outstanding achievement in mathematics. Career Born in Hamilton, Ontario, to a leather shop owner, Fields ...

(1919-1925; founder of the

Fields Medal The Fields Medal is a prize awarded to two, three, or four mathematicians under 40 years of age at the International Congress of the International Mathematical Union (IMU), a meeting that takes place every four years. The name of the award ho ...

William Edmond Logan Sir William Edmond Logan, FRSE FRS FGS (20 April 1798 – 22 June 1875), was a Canadian-born geologist and the founder and first director of the Geological Survey of Canada. Life William Edmond Logan was born into a well-to-do Montreal family ...

, Daniel Wilson,

John Henry Lefroy Sir John Henry Lefroy (28 January 1817 – 11 April 1890) was an English military man and later colonial administrator who also distinguished himself with his scientific studies of the Earth's magnetism. Biography Lefroy was a son of the Rev ...

John Beverley Robinson John Beverley Robinson (February 21, 1821 – June 19, 1896) was a Canadian politician, lawyer and businessman. He was mayor of Toronto and a provincial and federal member of parliament. He was the fifth Lieutenant Governor of Ontario between ...

George William Allan George William Allan, , (January 9, 1822 – July 24, 1901), was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He served as the 11th Mayor of Toronto and later as Speaker of the Senate of Canada. Life and career Allan attended Upper Canada College an ...

, William Henry Draper,

Oliver Mowat Sir Oliver Mowat (July 22, 1820 – April 19, 1903) was a Canadian lawyer, politician, and Ontario Liberal Party leader. He served for nearly 24 years as the third premier of Ontario. He was the eighth lieutenant governor of Ontario and one of ...

and

Henry Holmes Croft Henry Holmes Croft (March 6, 1820 in London – March 1, 1883 in San Diego, Texas) was a British scientist and educator in Canada. Croft was invited to join the faculty at King's College (now University of Toronto) in Toronto, arriving in 184 ...

Museum

Its first museum collection consisted mostly of archaeological and ethnographic items from native groups in Canada. Its first curator was David Boyle. During 1896, needing more room for the museum, the collection was transferred to the

Toronto Normal School The Toronto Normal School was a teachers college in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1847, the Normal School was located at Church and Gould streets in central Toronto (after 1852), and was a predecessor to the current Ontario Institute for St ...

(The Museum of Natural History and Fine Arts or Ontario Provincial Museum); Boyle cared for it until his death during 1911. Its collection was later transferred to the

Royal Ontario Museum The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of art, world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest museums in North America and the largest in Canada. It attracts more than one million visitors every year ...

Journal

The Institute regularly published a journal, 'the Canadian Journal', by various titles 1852–1878, as Proceedings 1879–1890 and later Transactions 1890-1969. 'Early Days of the Canadian Institute' by Sandford Fleming was published during 1899. The Royal Canadian Institute Centennial Volume, published in 1949, summarizes one hundred years of science in Canada and the history of the Royal Canadian Institute, 1849-1949. Since 2018, RCIScience has published an annua
magazine
for the public, featuring interviews and articles with scientists across Canada.

Activities

RCIScience first started hosting public lectures on the University of Toronto campus starting in 1913. Since then, RCIScience has expanded its activities to include in-person and online events, and novel initiatives such as Science is a Drag (winner of the Special Award for Inclusive Science Engagement at the 2022 Falling Walls Summit Science Breakthrough of the Year, Science Engagement category. In 2021, RCIScience received th
NSERC Award for Science Promotion
which honours individuals and groups who make an outstanding contribution to the promotion of science in Canada through activities encouraging popular interest in science or developing science abilities

Awards

Every year since 1982, RCIScience has awarded the

Sandford Fleming Award The Sandford Fleming Medal was instituted in 1982 by the Royal Canadian Institute. It consists of the Sandford Fleming Medal with Citation. It is awarded annually to a Canadian who has made outstanding contributions to the public understanding of s ...

to a Canadian who has made major contributions to the public understanding of science. The Sir William Edmond Logan Award was created in 2015 as a companion to the Fleming Medal to recognize the contribution that an organization (rather than an individual) has made to increasing science culture in Canada through communication of science.https://www.thesudburystar.com/news/local-news/laurentian-science-north-take-home-award It is presented to an organization operating in Canada that demonstrates continued passion, aptitude and expertise in science communication to the public.

References

External links

Official website
Organizations based in Canada with royal patronage {{canada-org-stub