French Academy of Sciences facts for kids
The French Academy of Sciences (in French: Académie des sciences) is a special group of smart people, started in 1666 by King Louis XIV. It was suggested by Jean-Baptiste Colbert, a very important minister. The main goal was to help and protect French scientific research. This Academy was a leader in science in Europe during the 1600s and 1700s. It is one of the oldest Academies of Sciences in the world.
Today, Patrick Flandrin is the President of the Academy. It is one of the five Academies that make up the Institut de France.
Contents
History of the Academy
The French Academy of Sciences started because Jean-Baptiste Colbert wanted to create a big academy. He picked a small group of smart people who first met on December 22, 1666. They met in the King's library in Paris, close to the National Library. After that, they had meetings twice a week in two rooms given to them. For the first 30 years, the Academy was quite informal, meaning it didn't have many strict rules yet.
Unlike the Royal Society in Britain, the French Academy was set up by the government. There weren't many spots for members, and getting in was very hard. The election process was long and had many steps. Members would talk about candidates, and sometimes they could even delay parts of the election. Being chosen didn't always mean you were a full member right away. Sometimes, you would start as an associate or correspondent before becoming a full member.
At first, if a mathematician left the Academy, only another mathematician could fill their spot. This meant that sometimes, there were no experts for certain fields, and those spots stayed empty.
This changed in 1987. The Academy decided to pick people with new skills and from different fields. This helped the Academy become more diverse and brought in younger members. The Academy was supposed to stay out of politics and avoid talking about religion or social issues.
On January 20, 1699, King Louis XIV gave the Academy its first official rules. It was then called the Royal Academy of Sciences and moved to the Louvre in Paris. After these new rules, the Academy started publishing a book every year. This book had information about all the work done by its members and stories about members who had passed away. The new rules also explained how members could get money for their work after they retired.
The Academy was set up with different groups: Pensionaires, Pupils, Honoraires, and Associés. The Honoraires group was special because its members were chosen directly by the King. This group existed until 1793.
It took a long time for the Academy to have more than 100 full members. This happened in 1976, which was 310 years after it started. In 1976, the Academy was reorganized. It could then have 130 resident members, 160 corresponding members, and 80 foreign members.
A spot in the Academy usually only opens up when a member passes away, as they serve for life. To encourage younger scientists, half of the open spots are now saved for people under 55 years old.
The 1976 reorganization also split the Academy into two main parts:
- Division 1: This part focuses on math and physical sciences.
- Division 2: This part covers chemical, natural, biological, and medical sciences.
On August 8, 1793, during the French Revolution, all the academies were closed down. But on August 22, 1795, a new group called the National Institute of Sciences and Arts was created. This new institute brought together the old academies, including the Academy of Sciences.
In 1795, the Academy also decided on 10 main areas of scientific study:
- Mathematics
- Mechanics
- Astronomy
- Physics
- Chemistry
- Mineralogy
- Botany
- Agriculture
- Anatomy and Zoology
- Medicine and Surgery
The last two sections (Anatomy/Zoology and Medicine/Surgery) were grouped together. This was because there were many great scientists in those fields, and the competition to join was tough. Even brilliant scientists like François Magendie, who made big discoveries in Physiology, had to work hard to get his field recognized. He became an official member in 1821. He also helped create the famous "Bell–Magendie law" with Charles Bell.
From 1795 until World War I (1914), the French Academy of Science was the most important science group in France. Most of the old members were re-elected. Even Napoleon Bonaparte was elected a member in 1798 and later became president. In 1816, the Academy became independent again, but it was still part of the Institute of France. The head of France became its supporter. During the Second Republic, its name went back to Académie des sciences. The Academy was paid for by the government.
The Academy also helped control French patent laws in the 1700s. This meant they helped share new inventions and knowledge with the public.
The Academy's work was published in a series called Comptes rendus de l'Académie des Sciences. These publications can be found at the French National Library.
In 1818, the French Academy of Sciences held a competition about light. A civil engineer named Augustin-Jean Fresnel entered with his new idea: the wave theory of light. Siméon Denis Poisson, one of the judges, studied Fresnel's idea. Poisson believed light was made of tiny particles, so he tried to prove Fresnel wrong. He thought he found a mistake: Fresnel's theory predicted a bright spot in the middle of a shadow cast by a round object. This seemed impossible to Poisson.
However, the head of the committee, François Arago, decided to try the experiment. He used a small metal disk and, surprisingly, he saw the bright spot! This discovery, now called the Poisson spot, convinced most scientists that light behaves like a wave.
For three centuries, women were not allowed to be members of the Academy. This meant many brilliant women scientists were left out, like Marie Curie (who won two Nobel Prizes), Irène Joliot-Curie (another Nobel winner), and mathematician Sophie Germain. The first woman to become a correspondent member was Marguerite Perey in 1962, who was a student of Marie Curie. The first woman to become a full member was Yvonne Choquet-Bruhat in 1979.
The Academy tries to have members who reflect the general population of France. In the early 2000s, as France's population grew, the Academy changed its rules to allow for more members.
Most members stay in the Academy for life. Very few members are removed, usually for not doing their work, leaving the country, or for political reasons. The last member removed was in 1944.
Government Influence
The government had the most direct say when members were first chosen in 1795. However, most of these chosen members had already been part of the academies before. The government also sometimes refused to accept the results of Academy elections. For example, in 1803, Napoleon Bonaparte changed how the Academy was organized. He removed a section that included political scientists, who might have criticized his government. Even with this influence, the Academy members expected to be paid for their work.
Later Years and Today
After World War I, some people started to question the Academy's importance. One reason was that it became more about seniority (how long you'd been a member) than about new scientific discoveries. It was seen more as a "hall of fame." Also, funding for science in France dropped a lot between 1909 and 1914, leading to money problems.
Today, the Academy is still very active. It is one of five academies that are part of the Institut de France. Its members are chosen for life. Currently, there are 150 full members, 300 corresponding members, and 120 foreign members. They are divided into two main science groups:
- Math and Physical Sciences
- Chemical, Biological, Geological, and Medical Sciences
The Academy has five main goals:
- Encouraging scientific life.
- Promoting science education.
- Sharing knowledge among scientists.
- Helping with international science projects.
- Giving expert advice.
Since 1997, the Academy has worked on science projects with African countries. Now, they work with many other regions around the world. A special committee called COPED handles these international projects. COPED has held many workshops and meetings in Paris. These meetings bring together scientists from African academies and universities to talk about important topics like renewable energy, diseases, food, clean water, and agriculture.
Awards and Prizes
Each year, the Academy of Sciences gives out about 80 prizes. Some of these include:
- The Marie Skłodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie Polish-French Science Award (started in 2022).
- The Grande Médaille, given every year to a French or foreign scientist who has made a huge difference in science.
- The Lalande Prize (given from 1802 to 1970) for great work in astronomy.
- The Valz Prize (given from 1877 to 1970) for advances in astronomy.
- The Richard Lounsbery Award, given with the National Academy of Sciences.
- The Prix Jacques Herbrand, for math and physics.
- The Prix Paul Pascal, for chemistry.
- The Louis Bachelier Prize for important work in math for finance.
- The Prix Michel Montpetit for computer science and applied math (since 1977).
- The Leconte Prize (given every year since 1886) for big discoveries in math, physics, chemistry, natural history, or medicine.
Important People
Here are some of the people who have led the Academy:
Presidents
Source: French Academy of Sciences
- 1800 Napoleon Bonaparte
- 1906 Henri Poincaré
- 1952 Albert Caquot
- 2001–2002 Hubert Curien
- 2003–2004 Étienne-Émile Baulieu
- 2005–2006 Édouard Brézin
- 2007–2008 Jules Hoffmann
- 2009–2010 Jean Salençon
- 2011–2012 Alain Carpentier
- 2013–2014 Philippe Taquet
- 2015–2016 Bernard Meunier
- 2017–2018 Sébastien Candel
- 2019–2020 Pierre Corvol
- 2021–2022 Patrick Flandrin
Images for kids
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Illustration from Acta Eruditorum (1737) where was published Machines et inventions approuvées par l'Academie Royale des Sciences
See also
In Spanish: Academia de Ciencias de Francia para niños
- French art salons and academies
- French Geodesic Mission
- History of the metre
- Seconds pendulum
- Royal Commission on Animal Magnetism
