Since the Society's foundation in 1881, the post of SCI President has been held by many world-leading scientists, inventors, businesspeople and industrialists.
The President of SCI works alongside the Executive and Trustees to support, promote and advance SCI's vision, mission and strategy. You can find out about SCI's past Presidents by following the links below – please note these are external links, with most opening in Wikipedia.
The incumbent President is Paul Drechsler CBE.
|
Tenure
|
President
|
|---|---|
| 1881-82 | Sir Henry Roscoe FRS |
| 1882-83 | Sir Frederick Abel FRS |
| 1883-84 | Walter Weldon FRS |
| 1884-85 | Sir William Perkin FRS |
| 1885-86 | Edmund Knowles Muspratt |
| 1886-87 | David Howard |
| 1887-88 | Sir James Dewar FRS |
| 1888-89 | Ludwig Mond FRS |
| 1889-90 | Sir Lowthian Bell, Bart. FRS |
| 1890-91 | Edward Rider Cook |
| 1891-92 | James Emerson Reynolds FRS |
| 1892-93 | Sir John Evans KCB FRS |
| 1893-94 | E C C Stanford |
| 1894-95 | Sir Edward Thorpe CB FRS |
| 1895-96 | Thomas Tyrer |
| 1896-97 | Edward Schunck FRS |
| 1897-98 | Frank Clowes |
| 1898-99 | Sir George Beilby FRS |
| 1899-1900 | Charles F Chandler |
| 1900-01 | Sir Joseph W Swan FRS |
| 1901-03 | Ivan Levinstein |
| 1903-04 | Sir William Ramsay KCB FRS FRSE |
| 1904-05 | William H Nichols |
| 1905-06 | Edward Divers FRS |
| 1906-07 | Eustace Carey |
| 1907-08 | Sir Thomas Boverton Redwood FRSE |
| 1908-09 | Raphael Meldola FRS |
| 1909-10 | Professor Ira Remsen |
| 1910-11 | Walter F Reid |
| 1911-12 | Rudolph Messel FRS |
| 1912-13 | Professor Marston T Bogert |
| 1913 | Sir William Crookes OM FRS |
| 1914 | Rudolph Messel FRS |
| 1914-15 | Professor G G Henderson FRS |
| 1915-17 | Charles C Carpenter CBE |
| 1917-19 | Professor H Louis |
| 1919-20 | John Gray |
| 1920-21 | Sir William J Pope KBE FRS |
| 1921-22 | Professor Robert F Ruttan |
| 1922-24 | Edward F Armstrong FRS |
| 1924-26 | W J U Woolcock CBE |
| 1926-28 | F H Carr CBE |
| 1928-29 | Arthur D Little |
| 1929-30 | Herbert Levinstein |
| 1930 | Rt Hon Lord Melchett PC FRSE |
| 1931 | Rt Hon Lord McGowan PC KBE |
| 1931-32 | Professor Gilbert Morgan OBE FRS |
| 1932-33 | Sir Robert Pickard FRS |
| 1933-34 | John Thomas Dunn |
| 1934-35 | Edwin Thompson JP |
| 1935-36 | W A S Calder |
| 1936-38 | Rt Hon Viscount Leverhulme |
| 1938-39 | Victor G Bartram |
| 1939-41 | Professor J C Philip OBE FRS |
| 1941-43 | W M Cullen |
| 1943-44 | Wallace P Cohoe |
| 1944-46 | Sir Eric Rideal Kt MBE FRS |
| 1946-48 | Leslie H Lampitt |
| 1948-49 | Sir David Rivett KCMG FRS |
| 1949-51 | Stanley Robson |
| 1951-52 | John Rogers OBE |
| 1952-53 | Francis J Curtis |
| 1953-55 | Sir William OGG Kt |
| 1955-57 | Julian M Leonard |
| 1957-58 | H Greville Smith CBE |
| 1958-59 | Sir Robert Robinson OM FRS FRSE |
| 1959-60 | E J Solvay |
| 1960-62 | The Lord Fleck KBE FRS |
| 1962-63 | Monroe E Spaght |
| 1963-65 | Sir Sydney Barratt Kt |
| 1965-67 | Sir Ronald Holroyd FRS |
| 1967-69 | N A Iliff CBE |
| 1969-70 | E Ralph Rowzee |
| 1970-72 | G H Beeby CBE |
| 1972-74 | Lord Kearton OBE FRS |
| 1974-76 | E Leslie Streatfield OBE |
| 1976-78 | D M Bell CBE |
| 1978-79 | P I Walters |
| 1979-80 | E R Kane |
| 1980-81 | W B M Duncan CBE |
| 1981-82 | The Lord Todd OM FRS |
| 1982-84 | Ian J Graham-Bryce |
| 1984-86 | K H Walley |
| 1986-87 | D S Davies CB |
| 1987-88 | Louis Fernandez |
| 1988-89 | Sir Robert Malpas CBE |
| 1989-91 | Sir Geoffrey Allen FRS |
| 1991-93 | Sir Graham Hills FRSE |
| 1993-94 | Jean-Marc Bruel |
| 1994-96 | Alan Hayes CBE |
| 1996-98 | K J Minton CBE |
| 1998-2000 | Vincent A Calarco |
| 2000-02 | Thomas M Swan OBE |
| 2002-04 | Jeroen van der Veer |
| 2004-06 | Sir Tom McKillop |
| 2006-09 | John Beacham CBE |
| 2009-12 | Stephanie Burns |
| 2012-15 | Paul Booth OBE |
| 2015-18 | Neil Carson OBE |
| 2018-22 | Paul Booth CBE |
| 2022- | Paul Drechsler CBE |
Header image credits:
[1] Henry Roscoe: Walery, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
[2] Sir William H. Perkin: Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
[3] Ludwig Mond: Elliott & Fry, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
[4] Sir William Ramsay: Portrait of Sir William Ramsay. Wellcome Collection. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
[5] Viscount Leverhulme: User Tagishsimon on en.wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
[6] Sir Eric Rideal: National Portrait Gallery by Hills & Saunders, circa 1922, (NPG x76996), (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)
[7] Stephanie Burns: Science History Institute, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons