13. NATIONAL ACADEMIES 

 AND NATIONAL SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES 



The scientific academies created in the seventeenth century and later, being sup- 

 ported by the prince or government took naturally a national aspect. Thus, the 

 Accademia dei Lincei became eventually (much later) the outstanding academy of 

 Italy, the Academie des Sciences and the Royal Society became the scientific acade- 

 mies of France and of England, etc. Those academies took some interest in the 

 history of science, chiefly but not exclusively, as far as it had developed in their own 

 territory. Thus, the Institut de France prepared by order of Napoleon reports on 

 the progress of science from 1789 to 1810. 



J. B. J. Delambre, Rapport historique sur les progres des sciences mathematiques 

 depuis 1789 et sur leur etat actual (272 pp.). Including mechanics, astronomy, 

 geography, arts and industries. Georges Cxjvier, Rapport historique sur les progres 

 des sciences naturelles ( 298 pp. ) . Including chemistry, physics, physiology, natural 

 history, medicine, agriculture. Bon Joseph Dacier, Rapport historique sur les 

 progres de rhistoire et de la litterature ancienne ( 263 pp. ) . The three quarto vol- 

 umes were published at Paris in 1810. 



The series of books on the history of science viritten at the initiative of the 

 Academy of Bavaria is so important that a complete description of it is given on 

 p. 124-25. 



Moreover, as the early academies grew older, they became naturally more con- 

 cerned with their own glorious past, with the history of their achievements and 

 institutions and the biographies of their members, and this has often induced them 

 to promote historical investigations. The jubilee publications of those bodies some- 

 times contain historical memoirs of real value, which do not always receive the 

 pubhcity they deserve and thus are relatively unknown. 



A history of the main academies, however brief, would take too much space 

 here. We have already spoken of the oldest ones, the Accademia dei Lincei, the 

 Accademia del Cimento, the Academie des Sciences, the Royal Society. There are 

 various historical accounts of each of them, so many in fact, that the history of each 

 academy requires a bibliography of its own. The same remark applies to the other 

 national academies, many of which are a century or two old. More of them were 

 created in the twentieth century and at present there are almost as many national 

 academies as there are nations in the United Nations. The creation of the younger 

 academies was due partly to the feeling that national prestige required their existence 

 and partly to the requirement of the International Union of Academies. 



It is impossible to give here a complete bibliography of academies, or even to 

 enumerate them and for each of them the main historical publications. We must 

 limit ourselves to mentioning a few general studies. 



Martha Ornstein: The role of scientific societies in the seventeenth century 

 (second ed., University of Chicago 1928; Isis 12, 154-56). The first edition appeared 

 in 1913; the second edition was reprinted in 1938 (322 p.; Isis 31, 87-89). Har- 

 couRT Brown: Scientific organizations in seventeenth century France, 1620-80 (328 

 p., Baltimore 1934; Isis 22, 542). 



The Royal Society of London publishes a journal "Notes and Records" which 

 contains many historical articles in addition to other news of social, non-technical 

 interest. Vol. 1, no. 1 appeared in April 1938, vol. 8, no. 1 in October 1950. Ad- 

 dress: Royal Society, Burlington House, London W.l. 



In addition to their national academies many countries have another kind of 

 national organization of their men of science. This takes the form of an annual 

 scientific congress, meeting each year in another city of the national (or colonial) 

 territory. Academies are exclusive organizations, the membership of which is gen- 

 erally restricted to elected fellows. The number of members may be very small as 

 in the Academie des sciences, or larger as in the Royal Society; in any case, it is 



