Sir (Henry) Bartle Frere, 1st Bt by Sir George Reid

The Royal Society of South Africa is a

learned society A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and science. Membership m ...

composed of eminent

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

n scientists and academics. The society was granted its

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, but s ...

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

in 1908, nearly a century after Capetonians first began to conceive of a national scholarly society. The 1877 founder and first president of the society was Sir Bartle Frere (1815–1884). Fellows are entitled to the post-nominal letters FRSSAf.

History

The society has its origins in the South African Institution, dating from 1825. The museum of the South African Institution eventually formed the present

South African Museum The Iziko South African Museum is a South African national museum located in Cape Town. The museum was founded in 1825, the first in the country. It has been on its present site in the Company's Garden since 1897. The museum houses important A ...

in Cape Town. In 1877, the South African Philosophical Society was founded. In 1908 the society was granted a

along the lines of that of the

Royal Society of London The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

and with the title of the Royal Society of South Africa. In the same year, the ''Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa'' began to appear, immediately succeeding those of the South African Philosophical Society, which had commenced in 1878. The headquarters of the society are in Cape Town.

Members, fellows and foreign associates

Persons with a demonstrable record of interest and activity in science may apply for membership of the Royal Society of South Africa. The application must be supported by two existing fellows or members of the society. Members receive all notices and communications of the society, including its ''Transactions'', participate generally in the society's activities and work towards the fulfilment of its aims. Persons, usually members of the society, who have done outstanding work in the furtherance of science in South Africa, as evidenced by publications, and who are resident in South Africa, may be elected to

fellowship A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the Royal Society of South Africa. Although there is no statutory limit to the number of fellows, no more than ten such ordinary fellows may be elected in any one year. The procedures for election continue to be elaborate and detailed in order to ensure that the high standards of the fellowship are maintained. Only fellows and honorary fellows participate in the fellowship elections. Honorary fellowships are on rare occasions awarded to persons who have done scientific research of exceptional distinction in South Africa. Foreign associates are appointed from amongst persons who are not resident in South Africa, who are worthy of fellowship of the society and who have a full, current interest in South African Science and its advancement, to the country's and the society's benefit.

Publications

The peer-reviewed ''Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa'' is listed amongst the interdisciplinary journals by the

Institute for Scientific Information The Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) was an academic publishing service, founded by Eugene Garfield in Philadelphia in 1956. ISI offered scientometric and bibliographic database services. Its specialty was citation indexing and analysi ...

in Philadelphia. Biographies of deceased fellows, annual reports of the society and presidential addresses are amongst the material that is also published in the ''Transactions''.

Funding

The Royal Society of South Africa is totally independent of government and receives no state-derived subsidy other than a small grant towards the cost of publications. It depends virtually entirely on the subscriptions of its members and fellows, on donations, bequests and on limited capital funds.

References

External links