# President of the Royal Astronomical Society

The president of the Royal Astronomical Society (prior to 1831 known as President of the Astronomical Society of London) chairs the Council of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) and its formal meetings. They also liaise with government organisations (including the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the UK Research Councils), similar societies in other countries, and the International Astronomical Union on behalf of the UK astronomy and geophysics communities. Future presidents serve one year as President Elect before succeeding the previous president.
The first president was William Herschel in 1821, though he never chaired a meeting. Since then the post has been held by many distinguished astronomers. The post has generally had a term of office of two years, but some holders resigned after one year e.g. due to poor health. Francis Baily and George Airy were elected a record of four times each. Airy was additionally appointed by Council for a partial term, so served as President a total of five times, more than anyone else. Since 1876 no-one has served for more than two years in total.

## Presidents

| No. | Name | Start year | End year | Note |
| 1 | William Herschel | 1821 | 1823 | |
| 2 | Henry Thomas Colebrooke | 1823 | 1825 | |
| 3(a) | Francis Baily | 1825 | 1827 | First term |
| 4(a) | John Herschel | 1827 | 1829 | First term |
| 5 | James South | 1829 | 1831 | |
| 6 | John Brinkley | 1831 | 1833 | |
| 3(b) | Francis Baily | 1833 | 1835 | Second term |
| 7(a) | George Airy | 1835 | 1837 | First term |
| 3(c) | Francis Baily | 1837 | 1839 | Third term |
| 4(b) | John Herschel | 1839 | 1841 | Second term |
| 8 | John Wrottesley | 1841 | 1843 | |
| 3(d) | Francis Baily | 1843 | 1844 | Fourth term, died in office |
| 7(b) | George Airy | 1844 | 1845 | Second term, appointed by RAS Council to fill the vacancy left by Baily's death |
| 9 | William Henry Smyth | 1845 | 1847 | |
| 4(c) | John Herschel | 1847 | 1849 | Third term |
| 7(c) | George Airy | 1849 | 1851 | Third term |
| 10(a) | John Couch Adams | 1851 | 1853 | First term |
| 7(d) | George Airy | 1853 | 1855 | Fourth term |
| 11 | Manuel John Johnson | 1855 | 1857 | |
| 12 | George Bishop | 1857 | 1859 | |
| 13 | Reverend Robert Main | 1859 | 1861 | |
| 14 | John Lee | 1861 | 1863 | |
| 7(e) | George Airy | 1863 | 1864 | Fifth term, resigned after one year |
| 15 | Warren De la Rue | 1864 | 1866 | |
| 16 | Charles Pritchard | 1866 | 1868 | |
| 17 | Russell Henry Manners | 1868 | 1870 | |
| 18 | William Lassell | 1870 | 1872 | |
| 19 | Arthur Cayley | 1872 | 1874 | |
| 10(b) | John Couch Adams | 1874 | 1876 | Second term. Last president to serve for more than 2 years in total. |
| 20 | William Huggins | 1876 | 1878 | |
| 21 | James Ludovic Lindsay | 1878 | 1880 | |
| 22 | John Russell Hind | 1880 | 1882 | |
| 23 | Edward Stone | 1882 | 1884 | |
| 24 | Edwin Dunkin | 1884 | 1886 | |
| 25(a) | James Whitbread Lee Glaisher | 1886 | 1888 | First term |
| 26 | William Christie | 1888 | 1890 | |
| 27 | James Francis Tennant | 1890 | 1892 | |
| 28(a) | Edward Ball Knobel | 1892 | 1893 | First term |
| 29 | William de Wiveleslie Abney | 1893 | 1895 | |
| 30 | Andrew Ainslie Common | 1895 | 1897 | |
| 31 | Robert Stawell Ball | 1897 | 1899 | |
| 32 | George Darwin | 1899 | 1900 | |
| 28(b) | Edward Ball Knobel | 1900 | 1901 | Second term |
| 25(b) | James Whitbread Lee Glaisher | 1901 | 1903 | Second term |
| 33 | Herbert Hall Turner | 1903 | 1905 | |
| 34 | William Maw | 1905 | 1907 | |
| 35 | Hugh Frank Newall | 1907 | 1909 | |
| 36 | David Gill | 1909 | 1911 | |
| 37 | Frank Watson Dyson | 1911 | 1913 | |
| 38 | Edmond Herbert Grove-Hills | 1913 | 1915 | |
| 39 | Ralph Allen Sampson | 1915 | 1917 | |
| 40 | Percy Alexander MacMahon | 1917 | 1919 | |
| 41 | Alfred Fowler | 1919 | 1921 | |
| 42 | Arthur Eddington | 1921 | 1923 | |
| 43 | John Louis Emil Dreyer | 1923 | 1925 | |
| 44 | James Jeans | 1925 | 1927 | |
| 45 | Theodore Evelyn Reece Phillips | 1927 | 1929 | |
| 46 | Andrew Claude De Lacherois Crommelin | 1929 | 1931 | |
| 47 | Harold Knox-Shaw | 1931 | 1933 | |
| 48 | Frederick John Marrian Stratton | 1933 | 1935 | |
| 49 | John Henry Reynolds | 1935 | 1937 | |
| 50 | Harold Spencer Jones | 1937 | 1939 | |
| 51 | Henry Crozier Keating Plummer | 1939 | 1941 | |
| 52 | Sydney Chapman | 1941 | 1943 | |
| 53 | Arthur Milne | 1943 | 1945 | |
| 54 | Harry Hemley Plaskett | 1945 | 1947 | |
| 55 | William Michael Herbert Greaves | 1947 | 1949 | |
| 56 | William Marshall Smart | 1949 | 1951 | |
| 57 | Herbert Dingle | 1951 | 1953 | |
| 58 | John Jackson | 1953 | 1955 | |
| 59 | Harold Jeffreys | 1955 | 1957 | |
| 60 | William Herbert Steavenson | 1957 | 1959 | |
| 61 | Roderick Oliver Redman | 1959 | 1961 | |
| 62 | William McCrea | 1961 | 1963 | |
| 63 | Richard van der Riet Woolley | 1963 | 1965 | |
| 64 | Thomas George Cowling | 1965 | 1967 | |
| 65 | Donald Sadler | 1967 | 1969 | |
| 66 | Bernard Lovell | 1969 | 1971 | |
| 67 | Fred Hoyle | 1971 | 1973 | |
| 68 | Donald Blackwell | 1973 | 1975 | |
| 69 | Francis Graham-Smith | 1975 | 1977 | |
| 70 | Alan Cook | 1977 | 1979 | |
| 71 | Michael Seaton | 1979 | 1981 | |
| 72 | Arnold Wolfendale | 1981 | 1983 | |
| 73 | Raymond Hide | 1983 | 1985 | |
| 74 | Donald Lynden-Bell | 1985 | 1987 | |
| 75 | Rod Davies | 1987 | 1989 | |
| 76 | Roger John Tayler | 1989 | 1990 | Astronomer: stellar evolution, galaxy evolution, plasma physics. Resigned his presidency a year early when he was diagnosed with myeloma. |
| 77 | Kenneth Pounds | 1990 | 1992 | Space scientist, X-ray astronomer |
| 78 | Martin Rees | 1992 | 1994 | Cosmologist, theoretical astrophysicist |
| 79 | Carole Jordan | 1994 | 1996 | First female president Solar physicist, ultraviolet astronomer |
| 80 | Malcolm Longair | 1996 | 1998 | High energy astronomer, cosmologist |
| 81 | David A. Williams | 1998 | 2000 | Astrochemist |
| 82 | Nigel Weiss | 2000 | 2002 | Theoretical astrophysicist |
| 83 | Jocelyn Bell Burnell | 2002 | 2004 | Radio astronomer |
| 84 | Kathryn Whaler | 2004 | 2006 | Earth geophysicist |
| 85 | Michael Rowan-Robinson | 2006 | 2008 | Infrared astronomer |
| 86 | Andrew Fabian | 2008 | 2010 | X-ray astronomer |
| 87 | Roger Davies | 2010 | 2012 | Astronomer, physical cosmologist |
| 88 | David Southwood | 2012 | 2014 | Space scientist, magnetospheres |
| 89 | Martin Barstow | 2014 | 2016 | Astronomer: white dwarfs, interstellar medium, ultraviolet astronomy |
| 90 | John Zarnecki | 2016 | 2018 | Space scientist, spacecraft instrumentation |
| 91 | Mike Cruise | 2018 | 2020 | Astronomer, gravitational waves |
| 92 | Emma Bunce | 2020 | 2022 | Space scientist, planetary magnetospheres |
| 93 | Mike Edmunds | 2022 | 2024 | Astrophysicist Abundance of the chemical elements Cosmic dust |
| 94 | Mike Lockwood | 2024 | 2026 | |