Admission of women into the Fellowship of the Royal Society

The first election of women into the Fellowship of the Royal Society took place on 22 March 1945, on which occasion Mrs Kathleen Lonsdale and Miss Marjory Stephenson were elected into the Fellowship. In the not very distant past, such an action on the part of the Royal Society would have seemed to present a marked departure from tradition, and would doubtless have aroused keen opposition. The admission of women to Fellowship of learned societies in Great Britain is, however, no innovation, for the Zoological Society of London and the Royal Entomological Society admitted women from the date of their incorporation in 1829 and 1833 respectively. The Linnean Society of London and the Royal Microscopical Society admitted women to Full Fellowship in 1905 and 1909. In 1944, two certificates in favour of women as candidates for election into the Fellowship of the Royal Society were presented to the Assistant Secretary for Registration. The Council consulted the Society’s legal advisers, who at once made it clear that the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act, 1919, removed any legal bar to the acceptance of certificates in favour of women or to their election into the Fellowship. The Council decided that it would be proper to make this legal position clear to the Fellows, and to recommend an appropriate verbal amendment of the Statutes. Since difficulties of travel consequent upon war/time conditions made it impossible for a large number of Fellows to attend a Special General Meeting for the discussion of this matter, the Council took the view that in order to offer to all Fellows an opportunity of considering the proposals it would be proper to use the discretionary powers afforded by the war emergency legislation to substitute consultation of the Fellows by a postal vote for the statutory Special General Meeting.