The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce,also trading as the Royal Society of the Arts, Manufactures and Commerce commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a London-based organization.
The RSA's mission expressed in the founding charter was to "embolden enterprise, enlarge science, refine art, improve our manufacturers and extend our commerce", but also of the need to alleviate poverty and secure full employment.
Notable Fellows (before 1914, called Members) include Charles Dickens, Benjamin Franklin, Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond; Edmund Burke, Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Marie Curie, Stephen Hawking, Nelson Mandela, David Attenborough, Judi Dench, William Hogarth, John Diefenbaker, and Tim Berners-Lee. Today, the RSA has fellows elected from 80 countries worldwide.
History
Founded in 1754 by William Shipley as the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, the organization was granted a Royal Charter in 1847 and the right to use the term "Royal" in its name by King Edward VII in 1908. It thus became the Royal Society of Arts. Members of the society became known as "Fellows" beginning in 1914.., page 693, page 3 The RSA would be referred to by a variety of names, such as the "Premium Society" and the "Society of Arts and Sciences".
Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce
In 1753, William Shipley – a little-known drawing master in Northampton – had the idea of stimulating industry by means of prizes funded by public-spirited people. Through mutual friends in London he was introduced to the Rev. Dr. Stephen Hales, FRS, a distinguished scientist. Hales liked the idea and asked Shipley to put his proposals in writing while Hales contacted two important colleagues, Viscount Folkestone and Lord Romney, to seek their assistance.
In 1753, Shipley wrote proposals calling for the use of prizes and premiums to boost industry and promote innovation. Shipley produced two leaflets: "Proposals for raising by subscription a fund to be distributed in Premiums for the promoting of improvements in the liberal arts and sciences, manufactures, etc." and "A scheme for putting the Proposals in execution". These were privately circulated in London before Shipley moved to live there. He visited Lord Romney and was assured of his and Folkestone's support. After months of canvassing Shipley called the first meeting, which was held at Rawthmell's Coffee House, at 25 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden on 22 March 1754.
The following year, the first meeting of the society was held at Rawthmell’s Coffee House, on Henrietta Street in Covent Garden. Shipley and ten others attended, including Stephen Hales, who had introduced Shipley to Viscount Folkestone and Lord Romney, both of whom were present and would act as the first presidents of the society and the earliest patrons.
The name "Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce" was adopted, but this title was later changed to "The Society of Arts". The organisation grew in its first few years from the original 11 members to about 3,000; ladies became members quite early on, as Shipley had wished. Viscount Folkestone was the first President (1755–1761) and Lord Romney the second (1761–1793). Samuel More was the society's Secretary from 1768 to his death in 1799.
American scientist Benjamin Franklin became a corresponding member in 1756, then in person in London when he was a representative of the colony of Pennsylvania. Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond also became a member around the same time and the two became friends. Thomas Paine met Franklin there, as did the Duke of Richmond. For Richmond, the society was a stable and reliable way to socialize outside the aristocracy, with scientists and political thinkers.Allen, Danielle. Radical Duke: How One Aristocrat -- and the American Revolution -- Transformed Britain. Liveright Publishers 2026, pp. 42, 65 Franklin came to view the Society as counter to the interests of America writing, "What you call Bounties...are nothing more than Inducements offered us, to induce us to leave Employments that are more profitable and engage in such as would be less...to quit a Business profitable to ourselves and engage in one as shall be profitable to you".Freeman Dyson. (2008). "The Scientist as Rebel". New York: New York Review of Books. "Preface". p. x. ISBN 9781590172940.
For the first two decades the Society used various premises, mostly in the Charing Cross area. Then, in 1772–74, the Adam brothers (Robert and James) built the present house for the Society, which has occupied it ever since. The property, at 6 John Adam Street, was completed on 24 April 1774; the Society was initially a tenant but bought the building in 1922.
One of the Society’s greatest achievements in the nineteenth century was its close involvement with establishing The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations of 1851 in London. Prince Albert was president of the Society when, in 1845, he suggested to some of the members the idea of "forming in England great Periodical Exhibitions of the Products of Industry." Its subsequent organisation was handled by a Royal Commission, with extensive involvement of several members of the Society, including Henry Cole, Francis Henry, George Wallis, Charles Dilke and other members of the society as a celebration of modern industrial technology and design.John R. Davies in Findling and Pelle (2008), "Encyclopedia of World's Fairs and Expositions", pp. 13–14 During this period the Society received its Royal Charter.
Early meetings + Members attending the first fifteen meetings of the Society Name Age Notes Henry Baker 56 Naturalist. Gustavus Brander 34 Naturalist. Nicholas Crisp 50 Proprietor of the Vauxhall porcelain factory. Lord Folkestone 60 English politician of Huguenot descent. First President. John Goodchild Prosperous linen draper, Hales' neighbour in Twickenham, and Society's first Treasurer. Stephen Hales 77 Distinguished scientist. Vice-President. Husband Messiter Physician, died 1785. Lord Romney 42 Vice-President. William Shipley 38 The Society's first Secretary. James Short 44 Scottish mathematician and telescope maker. James Theobald 66 Merchant and natural historian. Vice-President. Charles Lawrence Charles Whitworth 33 British MP, later Sir Charles. Expert in statistics and finance. Vice-President. Isaac Maddox 57 Bishop of Worcester, formerly Bishop of St Asaph.
The Society met 15 times in the period 22 March 1754 through 5 February 1755, with three members attending 10 or more times (Goodchild, Messiter and Shipley) and some only once or twice (Lawrence, Brander, Hales and the Bishop of Worcester)
Royal Society In 1908 the Society became the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. Today it is more commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts or the RSA.
In September 2023, RSA workers voted to strike for the first time in the organization's 270 year history, saying management had entered into pay negotiations in "bad faith".
Journal RSA Journal, 1987-2025RSA Journal (1987–2019) (), via: jstor.org Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, 1908-1987Journal of the Royal Society of Arts (1908–1987) , via: jstor.org The Journal of the Society of Arts, 1852-1908Journal of the Society of Arts (1852–1908) , via: jstor.org Transactions of the Society, Instituted at London, for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, 1783-1843Journal of the Society of Arts (1783–1843) , via: jstor.org, via: archive.org Journals cover many aspects of social progress, including mobility, urbanism, environmental sustainability, as well as the arts, including collaboration of societal challenges and creative solutions.
They may foster a shift towards appreciation for societal well-being. RSA Journals are dedicated to balancing efficiency and productivity with restoration and regeneration. They stress the importance of humans needing to have access to places to escape the busyness of life and be in nature.
Leadership The RSA's current patron is Anne, Princess Royal. She replaced her father, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, as President in 2011. The chairman is Loyd Grossman, who was appointed in 2024. The chief executive since September 2025 is former chairman and chief executive of Universal Music UK, David Joseph.
Presidents
Fellowship
Fellowship is granted to applicants "who are aligned with the RSA's vision and share in our values." Some prospective fellows are approached by the RSA and invited to join in recognition of their work; some are nominated or "fast-tracked" by existing fellows and RSA staff, or by partner organisations such as the Churchill Fellowship; others make their own applications with accompanied references, which are reviewed by a formal admissions panel consisting of RSA trustees and fellowship councillors.
Fellows of the RSA are entitled to use the post-nominal letters FRSA. They also gain access to the RSA Library and to other premises in central London. Fellows pay an annual charitable subscription to the RSA. Alongside this, all new Fellows pay a one-off registration fee.
Prizes
Originally modelled on the Dublin Society for improving Husbandry, Manufacturers and other Useful Arts, the RSA, from its foundation, offered prizes through a Premium Award Scheme that continued for 100 years. Medals and, in some cases, money, were awarded to individuals who achieved success in published challenges within the categories of Agriculture, Polite Arts, Manufacture, Colonies and Trade, Chemistry and Mechanics. Premiums were offered for four specific purposes: For the best quantity of cobalt produced in Great Britain For raising and curing not less than 20 pounds of madder For the best drawing by a child under 14 years of age For the best drawing by a child between 14 and 17
The aim of the first two was to encourage domestic production of two very important raw materials, then being imported at great cost; and to make available cheap dyestuffs, to avoid having textiles dyed abroad. The third and fourth were to encourage a supply of draughtsmen, especially for creating designs in the textile industry. The first premium list was a trial effort. Soon afterwards the members involved developed eight quite searching criteria for deciding how and to whom to award prizes. They ranged from deciding whether the proposal for an award had more than local or temporary significance, to determining whether a written account, drawings or even a model was required as a permanent record. This detailed investigation was referred to one of the Committees established early on in the formation of the Society. There were six principal ones: Agriculture, Chemistry, Polite Arts, Manufactures, Mechanics, and Colonies and Trade. They dealt with the matters speedily – often within a week – and would meet frequently to get the work done. By 1764 the organisation for handling prize entries and awards had almost become an industry in its own right: the offers published that year filled 91 pages of text and had 380 classes in which to compete. By 1766 the amount expended on premiums totalled £16,625.
A poem by George Cockings was published in 1769 dedicated to "The Right Honourable the President, Vice Presidents and Members of the Society..." which gives a full and amusing account of the Society and its achievements.
In response to concerns over deforestation and possible timber shortages in the eighteenth century, the RSA awarded metals to those who planted the most trees annually. According to RSA historian Anton Howes, "The medal-winners altogether planted at least sixty million trees—a figure that fails to take into account the countless others who entered the annual competition and lost, as well as the broader and intended effect of making tree-planting fashionable".