French Academy of Sciences
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The French Academy of Sciences is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. It was at the forefront of scientific developments in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, and is one of the earliest Academies of Sciences.
A heroic depiction of the activities of the Academy from 1698
Louis XIV Visiting the Royal Academy of Sciences, (Sébastien Leclerc I, France, 1671)
Illustration from Acta Eruditorum (1737) where was published Machines et inventions approuvées par l'Academie Royale des Sciences
The Institut de France in Paris where the academy is housed
Louis XIV
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Louis XIV, also known as Louis the Great or the Sun King, was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest of any sovereign. Although Louis XIV's France was emblematic of the Age of Absolutism in Europe, the King surrounded himself with a variety of significant political, military, and cultural figures, such as Bossuet, Colbert, Louvois, Le Brun, Le Nôtre, Lully, Mazarin, Molière, Racine, Turenne, Condé, and Vauban.
Portrait of Louis XIV, 1701
Louis XIV as a young child, unknown painter
Baptismal certificate, 1638
Louis XIV in 1643, just before becoming king, by Claude Deruet