Describes the various scientific groups which began to form in seventeenth century England; at Gresham college, London in 1645 and in Oxford, 1657 culminating in the founding of the Royal Society in 1660. Looks at the problems addressed by the Society, particularly the calculation of longitude at sea which led to the foundation of the Royal Greenwich Observatory. Ends with a discussion of Newton’s ‘Principia Mathematica’, 1687. Of interest to all those interested in the history of philosophy of science or the social history of the seventeenth century.