The Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskaps-Societeten i Uppsala), is the oldest of the royal academies in Sweden, having been founded in 1710. The society has, by

royal decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...

of 1906, 50 Swedish fellows and 100 foreign. Early members included

Emanuel Swedenborg Emanuel Swedenborg (, ; born Emanuel Swedberg; 29 March 1772) was a Swedish pluralistic-Christian theologian, scientist, philosopher and mystic. He became best known for his book on the afterlife, ''Heaven and Hell'' (1758). Swedenborg had ...

and

Anders Celsius Anders Celsius (; 27 November 170125 April 1744) was a Swedish astronomer, physicist and mathematician. He was professor of astronomy at Uppsala University from 1730 to 1744, but traveled from 1732 to 1735 visiting notable observatories in Germa ...

. The

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...

was founded in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

1739. Its founders, some of whom were members of the

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...

academy 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 ...

, specifically wanted a different academy.

Historical sketch

The academy was founded 1710 in

on the initiative of the university librarian Erik Benzelius (jr) (later

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

) under the name of ''Collegium curiosorum''. The name was changed to ''Societas Literaria Sueciae'' in 1719, when it received a royal charter in 1728 to ''Societas regia literaria et scientarium'', and it was known from the mid 18th century as the ''Societas regia scientarum upsaliensis''. All the academy's publications were in the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

language until 1863.

Structure

The academy has 130 national members and 100 foreign members, belonging to one of the four "''classes''": 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 ...

Physical Physical may refer to: *Physical examination In a physical examination, medical examination, or clinical examination, a medical practitioner examines a patient for any possible medical signs or symptoms of a medical condition. It generally co ...

''" class, the "'' Natural history-Medical''" class, the "''Historical-

Archeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...

''" class and the "''

Technical Technical may refer to: * Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle * Technical analysis, a discipline for forecasting the future direction of prices through the study of past market data * Technical drawing, showing how something is co ...

-Economical''" class. All the sections are ruled by a single

Presidium A presidium or praesidium is a council of executive officers in some political assemblies that collectively administers its business, either alongside an individual president or in place of one. Communist states In Communist states the presidi ...

, which is formed by a president, a vice-president, a secretary, a vice-secretary and a treasurer: the

king of Sweden The monarchy of Sweden is the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parliamentary system: see the Instrument o ...

is the

Honorary President A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

of the academy.

Prizes

The prizes awarded by the academy are as follows: *Linnaeus prize: the oldest prize awarded by the academy, named after

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

: the prize was instituted upon a donation by Linnaeus widow, Sara E. Linnaeus, on 8 September 1803. * Celsius Gold Medal is the most prestigious prize awarded by the academy, named after

. It was first awarded in 1961, and it is reserved to scientists working in

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 science Physical science is a branch of natural science that studies non-living systems, in contrast to life science. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a "physical science", together called the "physical sciences". Definition Physi ...

s, and as such, it is awarded upon decision by the "

class" of the academy.See the "

Structure A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...

" section of the entry. *Bergstedt prize is the second oldest prize awarded by the academy, instituted on 12 May 1827, upon a donation by the Secretary of State Erik Bergstedt. * Thalen prize was instituted in 1902 and is named after the

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 ...

professor

Robert Thalén Tobias Robert Thalén Hon. FRSE (28 December 1827 – 27 July 1905) was a Swedish physicist. He was awarded the Rumford Medal in 1884 for his spectroscopic researches. He was an expert on terrestrial magnetism and spectrum analysis. He gives ...

. * (Lilly and Sven) Thureus prize was instituted upon a donation from Lilly and Sven Thureus in 1971: originally it was a single prize, but at present it is awarded yearly upon decision by each one of the four classes of the academy. * Benzeliusbelöningarna (Benzelius grants) is awarded yearly, named after

Erik Benzelius the younger Erik Benzelius the younger (27 January 1675 in Uppsala – 23 September 1743) was a priest, theologian, librarian, bishop of Linköping, 1731–1742 and Archbishop of Uppsala, Sweden, 1742–1743. He was a highly learned man and one of Sweden' ...

,The founder of the academy: see the " Historical sketch" section of the entry. instituted in 1980 and entirely founded by the academy: it is meant as a grant to young researchers.

Notes

References

*. *.

External links

*. {{coord, 59.8587, N, 17.6321, E, source:wikidata, display=title Sciences, Society Uppsala University