This may have inhibited lower-ranked individuals from joining a group that set a high social tone (Hunter 1982). Moreover, it has been suggested that the evolving criteria used for establishing scientific credibility deliberately excluded women and people of color (Harraway 1997). It was not until 1945 that the first woman was elected to the Fellowship. It was not until the tail end of the twentieth century that programs addressing diversity issues were put in place.
Henry Oldenburg (1615–1677), a man of German birth, was the first secretary of the Society (from 1660 to 1677), and as such became responsible for soliciting reports from around the world for publication in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, the oldest science journal still in publication. He was also instrumental in devising methods to secure works against plagiarism, a common problem of the day. These processes were precursors of contemporary notions of peer review and the credit due the first to publish a result. Moreover, in assessing the credibility of reports received, the Royal Society played a central role in establishing scientific norms for impartiality and absence of bias.
The inductive method as expressed by Francis Bacon (1561–1626) was the source of inspiration for many early members of the Society, including Robert Boyle (1627–1691) and Sir Isaac Newton (1642–1727).
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