![Colbert Presenting the Members of the Royal Academy of Sciences to Louis XIV in 1667](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Colbert_Presenting_the_Members_of_the_Royal_Academy_of_Sciences_to_Louis_XIV_in_1667.PNG)
The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a
learned society
A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and science. Membership m ...
, founded in 1666 by
Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Ver ...
at the suggestion of
Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French
scientific research
The scientific method is an empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has characterized the development of science since at least the 17th century (with notable practitioners in previous centuries; see the article history of scientific m ...
. It was at the forefront of scientific developments in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
in the 17th and 18th centuries, and is one of the earliest
Academies of Sciences
An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...
.
Currently headed by
Patrick Flandrin
Patrick Flandrin (born 2 June 1955) is a French physicist, research director at CNRS researcher at École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, and member of the French Academy of Sciences.
Biography
After receiving the engineer degree from ICPI Lyon ( ...
(President of the Academy), it is one of the five Academies of the
Institut de France
The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute ...
.
History
The Academy of Sciences traces its origin to Colbert's plan to create a general academy. He chose a small group of scholars who met on 22 December 1666 in the King's library, near the present-day
Bibliothèque Nationals, and thereafter held twice-weekly working meetings there in the two rooms assigned to the group. The first 30 years of the Academy's existence were relatively informal, since no statutes had as yet been laid down for the institution.
In contrast to
its British counterpart, the Academy was founded as an organ of government. In Paris, there weren't many membership openings, to fill positions there were tenacious elections.
The election process was at least a 6-stage process with rules and regulations that allowed for chosen candidates to canvas other members and for current members to consider postponing certain stages of the process if the need would arise. Elections in the early days of the academy were important activities, and as such made up a large part of the proceedings at the academy, with many meetings being held regarding the election to fill a single vacancy within the academy. That is not to say that discussion of candidates and the election process as a whole was relegated to the meetings. Members that belonged to the vacancy's respective field would continue discussion of potential candidates for the vacancy in private. Being elected into the Academy didn't necessarily guarantee being a full member, in some cases, one would enter the academy as an associate or correspondent before being appointed as a full member of the academy.
The election process was originally only to replace members from a specific section. For example, if someone whose study was mathematics was either removed or resigned from his position, the following election process nominated only those whose focus was also mathematics in order to fill that discipline's vacancy. This led to some periods of time where they couldn't find specialists for specific fields of study, and had to have positions in those fields vacant, unable to fill them with people in other disciplines.
The reform needed came late in the 20th century, when in 1987, the academy decided against the practice, favoring filling vacancies with people with new disciplines. This reform was not only aimed at further diversifying the disciplines under the academy, but also to help combat the internal aging of the academy itself. The Academy was expected to remain apolitical, and to avoid discussion of religious and social issues.
On 20 January 1699, Louis XIV gave the Company its first rules. The Academy received the name of Royal Academy of Sciences and was installed in the
Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
in Paris. Following this reform, the Academy began publishing a volume each year with information on all the work done by its members and obituaries for members who had died. This reform also codified the method by which members of the Academy could receive pensions for their work.
The academy was originally organized by the royal reform hierarchically into the following groups: Pensionaires, Pupils, Honoraires, and Associés.
The reform also added new groups not previously recognized, such as Vétéran. Some of these role's member limits were expanded and some roles even removed or combined throughout the course of academy's history. The Honoraires group establish by this reform in 1699 whose members were directly appointed by the King was recognized until its abolishment in 1793.
Membership in the academy only exceeded 100 officially recognized full members in 1976, 310 years after the academy's inception in 1666. The membership increase came with a large-scale reorganization in 1976. Under this reorganization, 130 resident members, 160 correspondents, and 80 foreign associates could be elected.
A vacancy only opens upon the death of a member, as they serve for life. During elections, half of the vacancies are reserved for people less than 55 years old.
This was created as an attempt to encourage younger members to join the academy.
The reorganization also divided the academy into 2 divisions:
One division, Division 1, covers the applications of mathematics and physical sciences,
the other, Division 2, covers the applications of chemical, natural, biological, and medical sciences.
On 8 August 1793, the
National Convention
The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year Nationa ...
abolished all the academies. On 22 August 1795, a National Institute of Sciences and Arts was put in place, bringing together the old academies of the sciences, literature and arts, among them the
Académie française and the Académie des sciences.
Also in 1795, The Academy determined these 10 titles (first 4 in Division 1 and the others in Division 2) e to be their newly accepted branches of scientific study:
#
Mathematics
#
Mechanics
Mechanics (from Ancient Greek: μηχανική, ''mēkhanikḗ'', "of machines") is the area of mathematics and physics concerned with the relationships between force, matter, and motion among physical objects. Forces applied to object ...
#
Astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...
#
Physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
#
Chemistry
#
Mineralogy
#
Botany
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...
#
Agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...
#
Anatomy
Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...
and
Zoology
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and ...
#
Medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...
and
Surgery
The last two sections are bundled since there were many good candidates fit to be elected for those practices, and the competition was stiff. Some individuals like
Francois Magendie had made stellar advancements in their selected fields of study, that warranted a possible addition of new fields. However, even someone like Magendie that had made breakthroughs in
Physiology
Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...
and impressed the Academy with his hands-on
vivisection
Vivisection () is surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure. The word is, more broadly, used as a pejorative catch-all term for Animal testi ...
experiments, could not get his study into its own category.
Despite Magendie being one of the leading innovators of his time, it was still a battle for him to become an official member of the Academy, a feat he would later accomplish in 1821.
He further improved the reverence of the academy when he and anatomist
Charles Bell produced the widely known "
Bell-Magendie Law".
From 1795 until 1914, the first world war, the French Academy of Science was the most prevalent organization of French science.
Almost all the old members of the previously abolished Académie were formally re-elected and retook their ancient seats. Among the exceptions was
Dominique, comte de Cassini
Jean-Dominique, comte de Cassini (30 June 174818 October 1845) was a French astronomer, son of César-François Cassini de Thury and great-grandson of Giovanni Domenico Cassini.
Cassini was born at the Paris Observatory. He succeeded his fath ...
, who refused to take his seat. Membership in the Academy was not restricted to scientists: in 1798
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
was elected a member of the Academy and three years later a president in connection with his
Egyptian expedition, which had a scientific component.
In 1816, the again renamed "Royal Academy of Sciences" became autonomous, while forming part of the
Institute of France
The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute m ...
; the head of State became its patron. In the
Second Republic, the name returned to Académie des sciences. During this period, the Academy was funded by and accountable to the
Ministry of Public Instruction.
The Academy came to control French patent laws in the course of the eighteenth century, acting as the liaison of artisans' knowledge to the public domain. As a result,
academician
An academician is a full member of an artistic, literary, engineering, or scientific academy. In many countries, it is an honorific title used to denote a full member of an academy that has a strong influence on national scientific life. In syst ...
s dominated technological activities in France.
The Academy proceedings were published under the name ''
Comptes rendus de l'Académie des Sciences'' (1835–1965). The ''Comptes rendus'' is now a journal series with seven titles. The publications can be found on site of the
French National Library
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
.
In 1818 the French Academy of Sciences launched a competition to explain the properties of light. The civil engineer
Augustin-Jean Fresnel
Augustin-Jean Fresnel (10 May 1788 – 14 July 1827) was a French civil engineer and physicist whose research in optics led to the almost unanimous acceptance of the wave theory of light, excluding any remnant of Newton's corpuscular th ...
entered this competition by submitting a new
wave theory of light
In physics, physical optics, or wave optics, is the branch of optics that studies Interference (wave propagation), interference, diffraction, Polarization (waves), polarization, and other phenomena for which the ray approximation of geometric opti ...
.
Siméon Denis Poisson
Baron Siméon Denis Poisson FRS FRSE (; 21 June 1781 – 25 April 1840) was a French mathematician and physicist who worked on statistics, complex analysis, partial differential equations, the calculus of variations, analytical mechanics, electri ...
, one of the members of the judging committee, studied Fresnel's theory in detail. Being a supporter of the particle-theory of light, he looked for a way to disprove it. Poisson thought that he had found a flaw when he demonstrate that Fresnel's theory predicts that an on-axis bright spot would exist in the shadow of a circular obstacle, where there should be complete darkness according to the particle-theory of light. The
Poisson spot is not easily observed in every-day situations, so it was only natural for Poisson to interpret it as an absurd result and that it should disprove Fresnel's theory. However, the head of the committee,
Dominique-François-Jean Arago, and who incidentally later became Prime Minister of France, decided to perform the experiment in more detail. He molded a 2-mm metallic disk to a glass plate with wax.
To everyone's surprise he succeeded in observing the predicted spot, which convinced most scientists of the wave-nature of light.
![Acta Eruditorum - I orologi, 1737 – BEIC 13458392](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Acta_Eruditorum_-_I_orologi%2C_1737_%E2%80%93_BEIC_13458392.jpg)
For three centuries women were not allowed as members of the Academy. This meant that many women scientists were excluded, including two-time Nobel Prize winner
Marie Curie
Marie Salomea Skłodowska–Curie ( , , ; born Maria Salomea Skłodowska, ; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934) was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first ...
, Nobel winner
Irène Joliot-Curie
Irène Joliot-Curie (; ; 12 September 1897 – 17 March 1956) was a French chemist, physicist and politician, the elder daughter of Pierre and Marie Curie, and the wife of Frédéric Joliot-Curie. Jointly with her husband, Joliot-Curie was awar ...
, mathematician
Sophie Germain
Marie-Sophie Germain (; 1 April 1776 – 27 June 1831) was a French mathematician, physicist, and philosopher. Despite initial opposition from her parents and difficulties presented by society, she gained education from books in her father's lib ...
, and many other deserving women scientists. The first woman admitted as a correspondent member was a student of Curie's,
Marguerite Perey
Marguerite Catherine Perey (19 October 1909 – 13 May 1975) was a French physicist and a student of Marie Curie. In 1939, Perey discovered the element francium by purifying samples of lanthanum that contained actinium. In 1962, she was the firs ...
, in 1962. The first female full member was
Yvonne Choquet-Bruhat
Yvonne Choquet-Bruhat (; born 29 December 1923) is a French mathematician and physicist. She has made seminal contributions to the study of Einstein's general theory of relativity, by showing that the Einstein equations can be put into the form o ...
in 1979.
Membership in the academy is highly geared towards representing common
French populace demographics. French population increases and changes in the early 21st century led to the academy expanding reference population sizes by reform in the early 2002.
The overwhelming majority of members leave the academy posthumously, with a few exceptions of removals, transfers, and resignations. The last member to be removed from the academy was in 1944. Removal from the academy was often for not performing to standards, not performing at all, leaving the country, or political reasons. In some rare occasions, a member has been elected twice and subsequently removed twice. This is the case for
Marie-Adolphe Carnot.
Government interference
The most direct involvement of the government in the affairs of the institute came in the initial nomination of members in 1795. But as the members nominated constituted only one-third of the membership and most of these had previously been elected as members of the respective Academies under the old regime, few objections were raised. Moreover, these nominated members were then completely free to nominate the remaining members of the institute. Members expected to remain such for life, but interference occurred in a few cases where the government suddenly terminated membership for political reasons. The other main interference came when the government refused to accept the result of Academy elections. The academies control by the government was apparent in 1803, when Bonaparte decided on a general reorganization. His principal concern was not the First class but the Second, which included political scientists who were potential critics of his government. Bonaparte abolished the second class completely and, after a few expulsions, redistributed its remaining members, together with those of the Third class, into a new Second class concerned with literature and a new Third class devoted to the fine arts. Still this relationship between the Academy and the government was not a one-way affair, as members expected to receive their payment of an honorarium.
Decline
Although the Academy still exists today, after World War One, the reputation and status of the Academy was largely questioned.
One factor of decline was the development from a
meritocracy to
gerontocracy
A gerontocracy is a form of oligarchical rule in which an entity is ruled by leaders who are significantly older than most of the adult population. In many political structures, power within the ruling class accumulates with age, making the oldes ...
, in other words; a shift from people with scientific ability leading the Academy to people who had been there longer leading it.
It became known as a sort of "hall of fame" that lost control, real and symbolic, of the professional scientific diversity in France at the time.
Another factor was that in the span of five years, 1909 to 1914, funding to science faculties considerably dropped, eventually leading to a financial crisis in France.
Present use
![Institut France](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Institut_France.jpg)
Today the Academy is one of five academies comprising the
Institut de France
The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute ...
. Its members are elected for life. Currently, there are 150 full members, 300 corresponding members, and 120 foreign associates. They are divided into two scientific groups: the
Mathematical
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
and
Physical sciences and their applications and the
Chemical
A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., w ...
,
Biological, Geological and Medical sciences and their applications. The Academy currently has five missions that its pursuing. These being the encouraging of the scientific life, promoting the teaching of science, transmitting knowledge between scientific communities, fostering international collaborations, and ensuring a dual role of expertise and advise. The French Academy of Science originally focused its development efforts into creating a true co-development Euro-African program beginning in 1997. Since then they have broadened their scope of action to other regions of the world. The standing committee COPED is in charge of the international development projects undertaken by the French Academy of Science and their associates. The current president of COPED is
Pierre Auger, the vice president is
Michel Delseny, and the honorary president is
Francois Gros. All of which are current members of the French Academy of Science. COPED has hosted several workshops or colloquia in Paris, involving representatives from African academies, universities or research centers, addressing a variety of themes and challenges dealing with African development and covering a large field spectrum. Specifically higher education in sciences, and research practices in basic and applied sciences that deal with various aspects relevant to development (renewable energy, infectious diseases, animal pathologies, food resources, access to safe water, agriculture, urban health, etc.).
Current committees and working parties
The Academic Standing Committees and Working Parties prepare the advice notes, policy statements and the Academic Reports. Some have a statutory remit, such as the Select Committee, the Committee for International Affairs and the Committee for Scientists' Rights, some are created ad hoc by the Academy and approved formally by vote in a Members-only session.
Today the academies standing committees and working parties include:
* The Academic Standing Committee in charge of the Biennial Report on Science and Technology
* The Academic Standing Committee for Science, Ethics and Society
* The Academic Standing Committee for the Environment
* The Academic Standing Committee for Space Research
* The Academic Standing Committee for Science and Metrology
* The Academic Standing Committee for the Science History and Epistemology
* The Academic Standing Committee for Science and Safety Issues
* The Academic Standing Committee for Science Education and Training
* The Academic Standing La main à la pâte Committee
* The Academic Standing Committee for the Defense of Scientists' Rights (CODHOS)
* The Academic Standing Committee for International Affairs (CORI)
* The French Committee for International Scientific Unions (COFUSI)
* The Academic Standing Committee for Scientific and Technological International Relations (CARIST)
* The Academic Standing Committee for Developing Countries (COPED)
* The Inter-academic Group for Development (GID) – Cf. for further reading
* The Academic Standing Commission for Sealed Deposits
* The Academic Standing Committee for Terminology and Neologisms
* The Antoine Lavoisier Standing Committee
* The Academic Standing Committee for Prospects in Energy Procurement
* The Special Academic Working Party on Scientific Computing
* The Special Academic Working Party on Material Sciences and Engineering
Medals, awards and prizes
Each year, the Academy of Sciences distributes about 80 prizes. These include:
* the
Grande Médaille The Grande Médaille of the French Academy of Sciences, established in 1997, is awarded annually to a researcher who has contributed decisively to the development of science. It is the most prestigious of the Academy's awards, and is awarded in a ...
, awarded annually, in rotation, in the relevant disciplines of each division of the Academy, to a French or foreign scholar who has contributed to the development of science in a decisive way.
* the
Lalande Prize
The Lalande Prize (French: ''Prix Lalande'' also known as Lalande Medal) was an award for scientific advances in astronomy, given from 1802 until 1970 by the French Academy of Sciences.
The prize was endowed by astronomer Jérôme Lalande in 180 ...
, awarded from 1802 through 1970, for outstanding achievement in astronomy
* the
Valz Prize, awarded from 1877 through 1970, to honor advances in astronomy
* the
Richard Lounsbery Award
The Richard Lounsbery Award is given to American and French scientists, 45 years or younger, in recognition of "extraordinary scientific achievement in biology and medicine."
The Award alternates between French and American scientists, and is awa ...
, jointly with the
National Academy of Sciences
* the Prix
Jacques Herbrand
Jacques Herbrand (12 February 1908 – 27 July 1931) was a French mathematician. Although he died at age 23, he was already considered one of "the greatest mathematicians of the younger generation" by his professors Helmut Hasse and Richard Coura ...
, for mathematics and physics
* the Prix Paul Pascal, for chemistry
* the
Louis Bachelier Prize
The Louis Bachelier Prize is a biennial prize in applied mathematics jointly awarded by the London Mathematical Society, the Natixis Foundation for Quantitative Research and the Société de Mathématiques Appliquées et Industrielles (SMAI) in ...
for major contributions to mathematical modeling in finance
* the Prix Michel Monpetit for computer science and applied mathematics, awarded since 1977
[ French wikipedia article; both]
Monpetit
" and
Montpetit
" is found in Academy publications.
* the
Leconte Prize, awarded annually since 1886, to recognize important discoveries in mathematics, physics, chemistry, natural history or medicine
* the Prix
Tchihatcheff (Tchihatchef; Chikhachev)
People
The following are incomplete lists of the officers of the Academy. See also
:Officers of the French Academy of Sciences.
For a list of the Academy's members past and present, see
:Members of the French Academy of Sciences
Presidents
Source
French Academy of Sciences
Treasurers
* ?–1788
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (; 7 September 1707 – 16 April 1788) was a French naturalist, mathematician, cosmologist, and encyclopédiste.
His works influenced the next two generations of naturalists, including two prominent ...
* 1788–1791
Mathieu Tillet
Permanent secretaries
General
Mathematical Sciences
Physical Sciences
Chemistry and Biology
Publications
Publications of the French Academy of Sciences "Histoire de l'Académie royale des sciences" (1700–1790)
See also
*
French art salons and academies
*
French Geodesic Mission
The French Geodesic Mission to the Equator (french: Expédition géodésique française en Équateur, also called the French Geodesic Mission to Peru and the Spanish-French Geodesic Mission) was an 18th-century expedition to what is now Ecuador c ...
*
History of the metre
The history of the metre starts with the Scientific Revolution that is considered to have begun with Nicolaus Copernicus's publication of '' De revolutionibus orbium coelestium'' in 1543. Increasingly accurate measurements were required, and ...
*
Seconds pendulum
A seconds pendulum is a pendulum whose period is precisely two seconds; one second for a swing in one direction and one second for the return swing, a frequency of 0.5 Hz.
Pendulum
A pendulum is a weight suspended from a pivot so that ...
*
Royal Commission on Animal Magnetism
The Royal Commission on Animal Magnetism involved two entirely separate and independent French Royal Commissions, each appointed by Louis XVI in 1784, that were conducted simultaneously by a committee composed of four physicians from the Paris ...
Notes
References
*
* Stéphane Schmitt, "Studies on animals and the rise of comparative anatomy at and around the Parisian Royal Academy of Sciences in the eighteenth century," Science in Context 29 (1), 2016, pp. 11–54.
*
*
External links
* â€
English-language version(includes information on the society journals)
Search the Proceedings of the Académie des sciences in the French National Library (search item: Comptes Rendus)''Comptes rendus de l'Académie des sciences. Série 1, Mathématique''in
Gallica, the digital library of the
BnF.
{{Authority control
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
Sciences
1666 establishments in France
Educational institutions established in the 1660s
Scientific organizations established in 1666
Members of the International Council for Science
Members of the International Science Council