The ''Journal des sçavans'' (later renamed ''Journal des savans'' and then ''Journal des savants,'' lit. ''Journal of the Learned''), established by
Denis de Sallo, is the earliest
academic journal
An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and ...
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 hard cover or 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'' or it may consist of a ...
on Monday, 5 January 1665. This was shortly before the first appearance of the ''
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society,'' 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
Henri François d'Aguesseau (; 27 November 16685 February 1751) was Chancellor of France three times between 1717 and 1750 and pronounced by Voltaire to be "the most learned magistrate France ever possessed".
Early life
He was born in Limoges, ...
. Its content originally included obituaries of famous men, church history, the findings of other's in a scientific manner, 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. It was dominant before the development of modern science.
From the ancien ...
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
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
, and, although it very briefly reappeared in 1797 under the updated title ''Journal des savants'', it did not re-commence regular publication until 1816. From then on, the ''Journal des savants'' was published under the patronage of the
Institut de France
The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. 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 institut ...
. From 1908 to 2020, it was published under the patronage of the
Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres. 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. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at t ...
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 that is important in many areas of physics. The speed of light is exactly equal to ). According to the special theory of relativity, is the upper limit fo ...
was published in the journal, which established that light did not propagate instantly. It came to about 26% slower than the actual value.
* Translated as
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 what happened over the course of a day or other period
*Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...
'', 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 (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of ma ...
published his first explication of
Monadology in the journal.
[R.A. Watson, ''The Downfall of Cartesianism 1673–1712'' (The Hague: Nijhoff, 1966), p.15, citing "Extrait d'une lettre de Monsr. de Leibniz," ''Journal des sçavans'' 20 (2 June 1692), 365-269.] In 1762 it carried
Abraham Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron's landmark study of
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheisti ...
.
References
Further reading
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External links
''Journal des Savants'' current publisher(2021-present)
''Journal des Savants'' previous publisher(1909-2020)
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