If you’re a Brit, you’ll know about The Royal Institution of Great Britain, which was founded in 1799 to disseminate scientific knowledge to the public. It’s now been doing that for 214 years, but, for the first time, it’s in danger of extinction. Financial difficulties are threatening the closure of this venerable and historic body by selling its headquarters.
The Royal has a distinguished past. Thomas Henry Huxley, for instance, gave a series of public lectures there about Darwin’s theory. Their Christmas Lectures, intended for young people, began in 1825 and have featured a number of luminaries extending from Michael Faraday to Richard Dawkins and David Attenborough. Sir David and others who have lectured there wrote a letter to the Times which, though behind a paywall, is reported in the Telegraph:
The signatories of the letter, who have all given lectures at the Royal Institution, said the building had “nurtured some of science’s exciting and beneficial achievements”.
They wrote: “The Royal Institution has been home to some of the most important of Britain’s many contributions to science and engineering: the discovery of ten chemical elements, the first practical demonstrations of electricity, 14 Nobel Prizes and countless inventions.
“Since the start of its pioneering public lecture programme, through which science first entered popular culture, this building has not only nurtured some of science’s exciting and beneficial achievements, it has beamed them out to the world.”
It said that millions of families still watch the annual Christmas Lecture on television, more than 200 years after it was first given.
The letter went on: “If Britain loses the Royal Institution, it loses a part of its past. This institution, with its iconic lecture room where almost all the Christmas lectures have been delivered, is just as precious as any ancient palace or famous painting.
“This must not happen in a country that cares about culture, and least of all in one that pins its hopes for future prosperity on a new generation of scientists and engineers.”
Richard Dawkins, leading scientist and prominent atheist, and Colin Blakemore, Neuroscience Professor at Oxford, were among the 22 signatories of the letter.
Wikipedia adds that besides education, a lot of good science was done in the Mayfair building:
Notable scientists who have worked there include Sir Humphry Davy (who discovered sodium and potassium), Michael Faraday, James Dewar, Sir William Henry Bragg and Sir William Lawrence Bragg (who jointly won the Nobel prize for their work on x-ray diffraction), Max Perutz, John Kendrew, Antony Hewish and George Porter. In the 19th century, Faraday carried out much of the research which laid the groundwork for the practical exploitation of electricity at the Royal Institution. In total fifteen scientists attached to the Royal Institution have won Nobel Prizes. Ten chemical elements including sodium were discovered at the Institution, as well as the electric generator and the atomic structure of crystals.
What can you do about this? Not much if you’re not a British citizen or UK resident. But if you are one, there’s a petition you can sign asking the British government to buy the Royal’s building and help save it. You can sign the petition here (well, that link gives the info and a button to click), giving just your name, email address, and home address.
There are only 822 signatures so far, which is pathetic. We need to swell the ranks here, so please, if you’re a Brit or a resident of the UK, please consider signing. And send the link around to your friends, too (https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/44790). The Royal must be saved.
This petition is on the up-and-up; you can read more about it here.