Record

Reference numberCMB
LevelFonds
TitleCommittee minute books of the Royal Society
CreatorThe Royal Society
Date1678 - 20th Century
DescriptionMinutes of Standing, Sectional, Joint, British National, ad-hoc and sub-committees, and working and steering groups. Early minute books in the series contain the business of several committees. Four of the Society's committees were in existence before 1900; the Library Committee (which was appointed in 1678), Finance Committee (1785), Scientific Relief Committee (1859) and Soiree Committee (1873). These Committees, therefore, have the longest and most complete sets of minute books. Many other committees have 'stood' for significant periods, however, including the Committee of Papers (1752).
19th century material additional to the minutes, such as the original letters, was often pasted into books. In 1992, the Committee Minutes ceased to be pasted into books, and are now stored in boxes. Larger collections of papers submitted to, or solicited by committees were increasingly preserved in the late 19th century, and can be found in the Manuscripts General.
The list below is one which lists name of committee plus date of founding, with revised titles/subjects/dates in squared brackets.

Sectional Committees;
Sectional Committee 1 (1963) - Pure and applied mathematics, computer science
Sectional Committee 2 (1963) - Physics, applied physics, theoretical physics [Astronomy and physics, 2015]
Sectional Committee 3 (1963) - Chemistry, applied chemistry, theoretical chemistry
Sectional Committee 4 (1990) - Engineering, technology, instrumentation, material science, experimental fluid dynamics
Sectional Committee 5 (1963) - Geosciences and astronomy [Earth and Environmental Sciences 2015]
Sectional Committee 6 (1996) - Biochemistry, structural biology and molecular cell biology [Biochemistry and molecular cell biology]
Sectional Committee 7 (1996) - Developmental biology, genetic (excluding population genetics) immunology and microbiology (except medical microbiology) [Microbiology, immunology and developmental biology 2015]
Sectional Committee 8 (1996) - Anatomy, physiology and neurosciences
Sectional Committee 9 (1995) - Organismal biology, evolutionary and ecological science, including soils and agriculture [Organismal biology, evolution and ecology 2015]
Sectional Committee 10 (1997) - Health and human sciences

Standing and Joint Committees
Advisory Committee on Mathematics Education (ACME) (2002)
Animals in Research Committee (1984)
Armourers and Brasiers Company Prize Committee (1984)
Audit Committee (1996)

Awards Committees (1996);
Physical Sciences Awards Committee
Biological Sciences Awards Committee
Brian Mercer Awards for Innovation Committee (2001)
Brian Mercer Awards Panel (2008)
Awards Nominations Committee (2011)

Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society Editorial Board (2008)
Committee Advising Council on General and Honorary Candidates (2014)
DFID Africa Capacity Building Initiative Panel (2012)

Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowships Selection Committee (1995)
Physical Selection Panel
Biological Sciences Selection Panel

Education Committee (1969)
Partnership Grants Allocating Panel (2000)
Elections to the Fellowship and Foreign Membership Committee (1979)
Equality and Diversity Advisory Network [EDAN] (2011)
Evaluation Panel (2006)
Finance Committee (2011)
GlaxoSmithKline Prize and Lecture Committee (1979, 1996)
Global Environmental Research Committee (1998)
Grants and Awards Committee (2014)
Hooke Committee (1962)
Industry Fellowships Joint Panel (1980)
International Exchanges Committee (2011)
International Networks Committee (2005)
International Conference Grants and Short Visits Committee (2005), with nine panels
International Fellowships Committee
International Joint Projects Committee
International Exchanges Committee
International Policy Committee (2003)
Investment Advisory Committee (1996) [Renamed Investment Committee 2014]
Royal Society Leverhulme Trust and Senior Research Fellowships Panel

Library Committee (1678)
Michael Faraday Prize Committee (1986)
Milner Award Committee (2011)
Mullard Award Committee (1967)
Newton International Fellowships Committee (2008)
Biological Sciences
Physical Sciences

Newton Advanced Fellowship Panels (2014)
Nominations Committee (2012)

Paul Instrument Fund Committee (1945)
Public Engagement Committee (2012)
Publishing Board (1996)
Editorial Board of Biology Letters
Editorial Board of Journal of the Royal Society Interface Focus
Editorial Board of 'Journal of the Royal Society Interface'
Editorial Board of Notes and Records of the Royal Society
'Open Biology' Editorial Board
'Royal Society Open Science' Editorial Board
Editorial Board of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A
Editorial Board of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B
Editorial Board of Proceedings of the Royal Society A
Editorial Board of Proceedings of the Royal Society B

Remuneration Committee (1995)
Research Appointments Panels (1994) - 4 panels
Research Grants (1989) - 9 Boards
Rosalind Franklin Award Committee (2003)
2010 Anniversary Programme Board (2007)
Royal Society 350th Anniversary Campaign Board (2006)
Royal Society Academie des Sciences Microsoft Award (2006)
Royal Society Enterprise Fund Ltd Board (2008)
Royal Society Trading Ltd, Board of
Royal Society Leverhulme Trust Senior Research Fellowships Panel (1990)
Royal Society Kohn Award for Excellence in Engaging the Public with Science Panel (2004)
Royal Society Wolfson Labortory Refurbishment Grants Committee (1998)
Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Awards Committee (2011)
Science, industry and Translation Committee (2014)
Science Policy Advisory Group (2008)
Science in Society Committee (1995)
Scientific Aspects of International Security (1988)
Scientific Relief Committee (1859)
Scientific Unions Committee (1996)
Sir Henry Dale Fellowship Panel (2012)
Summer Science Exhibition Committee (previously Soiree Committee (1873))
Sorby Research Fund Committee (1909)
Sount-East Asia Rain Forest Research Committee (1984)
Trustees of the Pension and Life Assurance Plan of the Royal Society (1958)
UK Relocation Fellowships Committee
LanguageEnglish
Extent427 volumes and 50 boxes
Finding aidsAn accessions list of the Committee Minute Books is maintained. The General Card Catalogue (Committees) alphabetically orders by name of committee and gives brief details of the number of minute books accumulated, chronological extent, and refers to related committees. The Society's 'Yearbook' (1897 to date) lists committees standing at the time of publication, with their date of foundation and terms of reference. 'The Library and Archives of the Royal Society 1660-1990' by Marie Boas Hall (London 1992) contains a detailed account of the history of the Library Committee.
Access statusOpen
Access conditions30 year closure period applies
Related materialThe minutes of the earliest of the Society's committees, notably the Mechanical and Geological Committees 1664-1665 are in the Domestic Manuscripts, volume 5. For description see 'The Record of the Royal Society' 1940, pages 32-33. Larger collections of papers submitted to. or solicited by committees were increasingly preserved in the late 19th century, and are to be found in the Manuscripts General series. For more details about the activities of the post-war committees, see 'The Record of the Royal Society; Supplement to the Fourth Edition 1940-1989', John Rowlinson and Norman Robinson.
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    Browse the records of some of our collections, which cover all branches of science and date from the 12th century onwards. These include the published works of Fellows of the Royal Society, personal papers of eminent scientists, letters and manuscripts sent to the Society or presented at meetings, and administrative records documenting the Society's activities since our foundation in 1660.

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