The Hungarian Academy of Sciences ( , MTA) is Hungary’s foremost and most prestigious

learned society A learned society ( ; also scholarly, intellectual, or academic society) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and sciences. Membership may be open to al ...

. Its headquarters are located along the banks of the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, between Széchenyi rakpart and Akadémia utca. The Academy's primary functions include the advancement of

scientific knowledge Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

, the

dissemination To disseminate (from Latin, lat. ''disseminare'' "scattering seeds"), in the field of communication, is to broadcast a message to the public without direct feedback from the audience. Meaning Dissemination takes on the theory of the traditional ...

of research findings, the support of research and development, and the representation of

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

in Hungary both domestically and around the world.

History

The origins of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences date back to 1825, when Count

István Széchenyi Count István Széchenyi de Sárvár-Felsővidék (, ; archaically English: Stephen Széchenyi; 21 September 1791 – 8 April 1860) was a Hungarian politician, political theorist, and writer. Widely considered one of the greatest statesme ...

offered one year's income from his estate to establish a ''Learned Society''. He made this offer during a session of the

Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

Pressburg Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

(Pozsony, now Bratislava), then the seat of the

Hungarian Parliament The National Assembly ( ) is the parliament of Hungary. The unicameral body consists of 199 (386 between 1990 and 2014) members elected to four-year terms. Election of members is done using a semi-proportional representation: a mixed-member ...

. Inspired by his gesture, other delegates soon followed suit. The Society’s mission was defined as the development of the

Hungarian language Hungarian, or Magyar (, ), is an Ugric language of the Uralic language family spoken in Hungary and parts of several neighboring countries. It is the official language of Hungary and one of the 24 official languages of the European Union. Out ...

and the promotion of sciences and the arts in the Hungarian language. It was officially named the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1845. The Academy's central building, designed in the

Renaissance Revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of ...

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

by architect

Friedrich August Stüler Friedrich August Stüler (28 January 1800 – 18 March 1865) was an influential Prussian architect and builder. His masterpiece is the Neues Museum in Berlin, as well as the dome of the triumphal arch of the main portal of the Berliner Schloss. ...

, was inaugurated in 1865.

Sections

Within the Academy, scientific sections are organized according to individual disciplines or closely related fields. Each section monitors, promotes, and evaluates scientific activities within its domain. It provides expert opinions on scientific matters, science policy, and research organization. Additionally, the sections assess the work of the Academy’s research institutes, university departments, and other affiliated research units. They also play a key role in the process of awarding the ''Doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences'' (

D.Sc. A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

) degree, Hungary’s post- Ph.D. academic qualification. Today, the Academy is composed of eleven main scientific sections: # Linguistics and Literary Scholarship # Philosophy and Historical Sciences # Mathematics # Agricultural Sciences # Medical Sciences # Engineering Sciences # Chemical Sciences # Biological Sciences # Economics and Law # Earth Sciences # Physical Sciences

Research institutes until 2019

* MTA Agricultural Research Centre * MTA Chemical Research Center * MTA Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences (involved with Konkoly Observatory) * MTA Szeged Research Centre for Biology * MTA Centre for Ecological Research * MTA Research Centre for Economic and Regional Studies * MTA Centre for Energy Research * MTA Research Centre for the Humanities * MTA Research Institute for Linguistics * MTA Rényi Institute of Mathematics * MTA Institute of Experimental Medicine * MTA Research Centre for Natural Sciences * MTA Institute of Nuclear Research * MTA Wigner Research Centre for Physics * MTA Centre for Social Sciences

Presidents of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

Széchenyi Academy of Literature and Arts

The Széchenyi Academy of Literature and Arts () was created in 1992 as an academy associated yet independent from the MTA. Some of the known members are György Konrád,

Magda Szabó Magda Szabó (5 October 1917 – 19 November 2007) was a Hungarians, Hungarian novelist. Doctor of philology, she also wrote dramas, essays, studies, memoirs, poetry and children's literature. She was a founding member of the , an online dig ...

Péter Nádas Péter Nádas (born 14 October 1942) is a Hungarian writer, playwright, and essayist. Biography He was born in Budapest into a Jewish family, the son of László Nádas (originally Nussbaum) and Klára Tauber. After the takeover of the Hung ...

writers,

Zoltán Kocsis Zoltán Kocsis (; 30 May 1952 – 6 November 2016) was a Hungarian pianist, conducting, conductor and composer. Biography Studies Born in Budapest, he began his musical studies at the age of five and continued them at the Béla Bartók Conser ...

pianist,

Miklós Jancsó Miklós Jancsó (; 27 September 192131 January 2014) was a Hungarian people, Hungarian film director and screenwriter. Jancsó achieved international prominence starting in the mid-1960s with works including ''Szegénylegények, The Round-Up'' ...

István Szabó István Szabó (; born 18 February 1938) is a Hungarian film director, screenwriter, and opera director. Szabó is one of the most notable Hungary, Hungarian filmmakers and one who has been best known outside the Hungarian language, Hungarian- ...

film directors. The last president was

Károly Makk Károly Makk (December 22, 1925 – August 30, 2017) was a Hungarian film director and screenwriter. Five of his films were nominated for the ''Palme d'Or'' at the Cannes Film Festival; however, he won lesser awards at Cannes and elsewhere. He w ...

, film director, who succeeded László Dobszay (resigned on 20 April 2011Lemond a Széchenyi Irodalmi és Művészeti Akadémia két vezetője
MTI).

References

External links

* *
Brief history of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (in English)
*
homepage
of the Széchenyi Academy
Picture of its central building
�
additional picture

The palace of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
{{Authority control 1825 establishments in the Austrian Empire 19th-century establishments in Hungary Academy of Sciences Academy of Sciences Academy of Sciencesea Members of the International Council for Science Members of the International Science Council Hungaria Hungaria Organizations established in 1825 Scientific organizations established in 1825