London Mathematical Society

The Society was established on 16 January 1865, the first president being Augustus De Morgan. The earliest meetings were held in University College, but the Society soon moved into Burlington House, Piccadilly. The initial activities of the Society included talks and publication of a journal. The LMS was used as a model for the establishment of the American Mathematical Society in 1888. Mary Cartwright was the first woman to be President of the LMS (in 1961–62). The Society was granted a royal charter in 1965, a century after its foundation. In 1998 the Society moved from rooms in Burlington House into De Morgan House (named after the society's first president), at 57–58 Russell Square, Bloomsbury, to accommodate an expansion of its staff. In 2015 the Society celebrated its 150th anniversary. During the year the anniversary was celebrated with a wide range of meetings, events, and other activities, highlighting the historical and continuing value and prevalence of mathematics in society, and in everyday life.

The Society publishes books and periodicals; organises mathematical conferences; provides funding to promote mathematics research and education; and awards a number of prizes and fellowships for excellence in mathematical research.

The Society supports mathematics in the UK through its grant schemes. These schemes provide support for mathematicians at different stages in their careers. The Society’s grants include research grants for mathematicians, early career researchers and computer scientists working at the interface of mathematics and computer science; education grants for teachers and other educators; travel grants to attend conferences; and grants for those with caring responsibilities. Awarding grants is one of the primary mechanisms through which the Society achieves its central purpose, namely to 'promote and extend mathematical knowledge’.

The Society also offers a range of Fellowships: LMS Early Career Fellowships; LMS Atiyah-Lebanon UK Fellowships; LMS Emmy Noether Fellowships and Grace Chisholm Young Fellowships.

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The Society's periodical publications include five journals: Bulletin of the London Mathematical Society (1969–present) Journal of the London Mathematical Society (1926–present) Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society (1865–present) Transactions of the London Mathematical Society (2014–present) Journal of Topology (2006 – present) It also publishes the journal Compositio Mathematica on behalf of its owning foundation, Mathematika on behalf of University College London and Nonlinearity with the Institute of Physics.

The Society publishes two book series, the LMS Lecture Notes and LMS Student Texts. Previously it published a series of Monographs and (jointly with the American Mathematical Society) the History of Mathematics series. An electronic journal, the LMS Journal of Computation and Mathematics, ceased publication at the end of 2017.

The Society's archive (up until 1994) is held in University College London (UCL) Special Collections. The collection primarily contains letters to Thomas Archer Hirst, but also includes correspondence to other European mathematicians. UCL holds around 150 rare books from the Society which focus on the history of mathematics and were published between 1701 - 1850.

Membership is open to those who are interested in mathematics. Currently, there are four classes of membership, namely: (a) Ordinary, (b) Reciprocity, (c) Associate, and (d) Associate (undergraduate). In addition, Honorary Members of the Society are distinguished mathematicians who are not normally resident in the UK, who are proposed by the Society's Council for election to Membership at a Society Meeting.

The named prizes are: De Morgan Medal (triennial) — the most prestigious Pólya Prize (two years out of three) Fröhlich Prize (biennial) Shephard Prize (biennial) Senior Whitehead Prize (biennial) Naylor Prize and Lectureship (biennial) Senior Berwick Prize Berwick Prize Senior Anne Bennett Prize Anne Bennett Prize Whitehead Prize Louis Bachelier Prize (biennial) Hirst Prize In addition, the Society jointly with the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications awards the David Crighton Medal and Christopher Zeeman Medal on alternating years. The LMS also awards the Emmy Noether Fellowships.