Like-minded fellows

摘要

Some 350 years ago, a dozen men meeting in the City of London heard a lecture by a young astronomer named Christopher Wren, who would later become the architect of St Paul's Cathedral. They determined to gather on a regular basis. Inspired by the writing of Sir Francis Bacon, a 17th-century statesman and philosopher who argued that knowledge could be gained by testing ideas through experiments, the group began to meet every week to discuss scientific matters and witness experiments conducted by its members. Two years later, Charles II granted the society its royal charter; the Royal Society gave birth to modern science.