The (later renamed and then , ), established by
Denis de Sallo
Denis de Sallo, Sieur de la Coudraye (1626May 14, 1669) was a French writer and lawyer from Paris, known as the founder of the first French, and European Literary magazine, literary and scientific journal – the (later renamed ''Journal des savan ...
, is the earliest
academic journal
An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which Scholarly method, scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the ...
published in Europe. It is thought to be the earliest published scientific journal. It currently focuses on European history and premodern literature.
History
The first issue appeared as a twelve-page
quarto
Quarto (abbreviated Qto, 4to or 4º) is the format of a book or pamphlet produced from full sheets printed with eight pages of text, four to a side, then folded twice to produce four leaves. The leaves are then trimmed along the folds to produc ...
pamphlet
A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a Hardcover, hard cover or Bookbinding, binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' ...
on Monday, 5 January 1665. This was shortly before the first appearance of the ''
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society
''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'' is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society. In its earliest days, it was a private venture of the Royal Society's secretary. It was established in 1665, making it the second journ ...
,'' on 6 March 1665. The 18th-century French physician and
encyclopédiste Louis-Anne La Virotte (1725–1759) was introduced to the journal through the protection of chancellor
Henri François d'Aguesseau. Its content originally included obituaries of famous men, church history, scientific findings, and legal reports.
Natural philosophy
Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics, that is, nature and the physical universe, while ignoring any supernatural influence. It was dominant before the develop ...
was part of its original scope. It is thought to be the first published scientific journal.
The journal ceased publication in 1792, during the
French Revolution, and, although it very briefly reappeared in 1797 under the updated title , it did not re-commence regular publication until 1816. From then on, the was published by the
National Imprimery under the patronage of the
Institut de France
The ; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the . 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 manages approximately ...
. From 1908 to 2020, it was published under the patronage of the
Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres
The () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the . The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions (epigraphy) and historical literature (see Belles-lettres).
History ...
. In 2021, the Belgian company
Peeters took over publication. It continues to be a leading academic journal in French
humanities
Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...
scholarship.
Landmark articles
Ole Rømer's
determination of the
speed of light
The speed of light in vacuum, commonly denoted , is a universal physical constant exactly equal to ). It is exact because, by international agreement, a metre is defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time i ...
was published in the journal in 1676, which established that light did not propagate instantly. It came to about 26% slower than the actual value.
In 1684 the journal published
François Bernier's racial theories.
[François Bernier]
"A New Division of the Earth"
from ''Journal des Scavans
A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to:
*Bullet journal, a method of personal organization
*Diary, a record of personal secretive thoughts and as open book to personal therapy or used to feel connected to onesel ...
'', April 24, 1684. Translated by T. Bendyshe in Memoirs Read Before the Anthropological Society of London, vol. 1, 1863–64, pp. 360–64. In 1692,
Leibniz
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (or Leibnitz; – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat who is credited, alongside Sir Isaac Newton, with the creation of calculus in addition to many ...
published his first explication of
Monadology in the journal. In 1762 it carried
Abraham Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron's landmark study of
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, ...
. A self-assured misreading of
Japanese sources in an 1817 article by
Jean-Pierre Abel-Rémusat led to the name of the
Bonin Islands
The Bonin Islands, also known as the , is a list of islands of Japan, Japanese archipelago of over 30 subtropical and Island#Tropical islands, tropical islands located around SSE of Tokyo and northwest of Guam. The group as a whole has a total ...
.
[.]
References
Further reading
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External links
''Journal des Savants'' current publisher(issues from 2023–present)
''Journal des Savants'' previous publisher(issues from 2016–2020)
Open access issues of ''Journal des Savants''(1909–2016)
*Origina
''Journal des sçavans''at
Gallica
{{DEFAULTSORT:Journal Des Scavans
French-language journals
Publications established in 1665
Literary magazines published in France
Multidisciplinary academic journals
1665 establishments in France
Peeters Publishers academic journals