French Academy of Sciences
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
A learned 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 all, may require possession of some qualification, or may be an honour conferred by election.
200th anniversary of Berlin Academy, 1900