Invisible College

Invisible College is the term used for a small community of interacting scholars who often met face-to-face, exchanged ideas and encouraged each other. One group that has been described as a precursor group to the Royal Society of London consisted of a number of natural philosophers around Robert Boyle. It has been suggested that other members included prominent figures later closely concerned with the Royal Society;[2] but several groups preceded the formation of the Royal Society Of London, and who the other members of this one were is still debated by scholars. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invisible_College