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In the beginning

On this day, 170 years ago (3 April 1850) the Royal Meteorological Society (RMetS) was founded by a small group of gentlemen who met in the library of astronomer Dr John Lee’s home, the stunning Hartwell House in Aylesbury. They gathered “to form a society the objects of which should be the advancement and extension of meteorological science by determining the laws of climate and of meteorological phenomena in general”.

The first President of the Society was Samuel Charles Whitbread, grandson of the founder of the famous brewing firm.

Royal connections

Originally the British Meteorological Society, then The Meteorological Society, RMetS received its current name in 1883 when Her Majesty Queen Victoria granted the privilege of adding ‘Royal’ to the title.

Royal patronage has been enjoyed since 1904, passing through the generations from the Prince of Wales (later King George V), King Edward VIII, King George VI, the present Queen and back to the Prince of Wales (HRH Prince Charles) in 2002.

Membership and accreditation

By the end of 1850, the membership of the new society was 145. At its golden jubilee in 1900, membership had grown to 600 and the only founding member still alive was James Glaisher - recently portrayed in the biographical adventure film The Aeronauts.

Numbers continued to grow following the amalgamation with the Scottish Meteorological Society in 1921 and membership topped 1,000 for the first time in 1944, partially due to the heightened interest in meteorology amongst those who served in the RAF during World War II.

Today the Society has around 3,300 members, from more than 50 countries, which is evenly split across academics, students, professional practitioners and keen weather enthusiasts.

The Society is the only body able to award Registered or Chartered status for Meteorologists, offering independent recognition and regulation around training and professional development; as well as recognising excellence in people and organisations.  

Events

The Society has held free public meetings ever since it was formed, with Professor Gordon Manley (President 1945-46) encouraging more meetings of a popular nature and outside London. This has continued with regular national meetings held across the country as well as many local centre and specialist interest group meetings and events. Over 60 meetings and conferences take place each year.

Publications

Manley also helped to launch the flagship publication Weather in May 1946.

From the beginning, the Society published Annual Reports, which became the fore runner of The Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society. Documenting the results of new research in atmospheric science and related topics, the journal has been acknowledged as one of the world’s leading publications on weather and climate since 1871. 

The Society now publishes eight international scientific journals.

Education and outreach

As the Society has grown, so too has the education and public outreach programme, with resources and support available for teachers at primary and secondary schools, plus higher education levels.

Metlink is the Society’s education site which has curriculum linked resources, a meteorological instrument loan scheme and careers and course information.

The Society also provides advice and expertise to Government; supports a variety of media requests – particularly around periods of extreme weather; recognises excellence through its awards, prizes and medals; and offers legacy funds.  We also run the very popular Weather Photographer of the Year Competition, now in its fifth year.

The future

Progress made over the last 170 years in technology and our understanding of weather and climate, as well as the huge public interest, would amaze our founding members. Recent extreme weather events underline our dependency on reliable and timely weather information and the importance of dealing with the threat from man-made climate change.

The Society continues to have an important role in supporting the development of the science, educating the public and supporting the policy response to climate change.       

We hope you will join us in looking ahead to the next 170 years.