This month marks a milestone in modern scientific publishing.  Back when science was called Natural Philosophy and the practice of medicine straddled the line between alchemy and butchery, the Royal Society started publishing (what is considered) the first peer-reviewed scientific journal. Volume 1 of Philosophical Transactions: Giving Some Accompt of the Present Undertakings, Studies, and Labours of the Ingenious in Many Considerable Parts of the World (as it was fully titled) was published 350 years ago this month.

The journal, which started as the Royal Society’s secretary Henry Oldenburg’s pet-project, was intended to communicate the most current information to society members and other scientifically minded readers. Since it’s first appearance in 1665, Philosophical Transactions has continued publication through plagues, wars, competition, and scandal.

The first issue of Philosophical Transactions contained some very interesting articles covering a range of scientific study(the journal split in the mid-19th century into “A” and “B” series to separate the physical and biological sciences). It featured articles on comets, whale-fishing, pendulums, and “An Account of a Very Odd Monstrous Calf” as well as snippets from letters between scientists of the day.

Over the years, Philosophical Transactions has published some of the most important scientific discoveries of the times. This article from the Guardian lists some of the journal’s highlights from Benjamin Franklin to Stephen Hawking.

In celebration of the anniversary, all Royal Society’s digital content is free through the end of March 2015. This includes some very cool scans of the earliest volumes. Just clicking on random issues and reading the Tables of Contents is like peeking into a time capsule of scientific knowledge. The 1776 volume includes meteorological reports for Bristol and London which doesn’t seem all that important, unless of course, you’re studying climate change. Since scientific study is built upon past discoveries, this collection of 350 years of research is simply awesome.