Churchill was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1941. The election took place on 29 May, during his first year as prime minister of the wartime coalition government.
The Royal Society is Britain’s national academy of sciences, so Churchill’s election can seem surprising because he was primarily a politician, soldier, writer and historian rather than a laboratory scientist. He was elected under Statute 12, which allowed the Society to recognise someone who had rendered conspicuous service to science or whose election would significantly benefit the institution.
Churchill’s relationship with science and technology was nevertheless important. As a minister and wartime leader, he supported scientific research, technological development and the practical use of innovations such as radar. His Fellowship was chiefly an honour connected with his public service and influence, rather than recognition for a specific scientific discovery.
He signed the Royal Society’s historic Charter Book at a ceremony in the Cabinet Office at 10 Downing Street on 12 June 1941. The book also contained the signature of his ancestor, Sir Winston Churchill, who had become a Fellow in 1664.