Coat of Arms of the Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences

The Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences ( Spanish: ''Real Academia de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales'') is an academic institution and

learned society A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and science. Membership ...

that was founded in Madrid in 1847. It is dedicated to the study and research of

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which ...

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, proper ...

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

, and related sciences.

History

The forerunner of the modern Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Mathematics, was created in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

in 1582, during the reign of Philip II. It evolved from the environment of cooperation among the

cosmographer The term cosmography has two distinct meanings: traditionally it has been the protoscience of mapping the general features of the cosmos, heaven and Earth; more recently, it has been used to describe the ongoing effort to determine the large-scal ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

s and

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

s that served the monarch, and also involved prominent artillery experts and military engineers. The initiative was motivated by an interest that existed in the

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

of the late sixteenth century in promoting the teaching of

with an eye to its practical applications in areas as diverse as mercantile calculation, cosmography,

astrology Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...

on one hand, and the art of

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation ...

and specific problems relating to military skills and

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and ...

techniques on the other. The idea of founding the Academy of Mathematics originated with

Juan de Herrera Juan de Herrera (1530 – 15 January 1597) was a Spanish architect, mathematician and geometrician. One of the most outstanding Spanish architects in the 16th century, Herrera represents the peak of the Renaissance in Spain. His sober style rea ...

, who was also its first director (1583–1597). It was founded in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

in accordance with documents issued on December 25, 1582, and began functioning in October of the following year in offices of the

Royal Alcazar of Madrid Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a c ...

, and shortly afterwards in its own building nearby "at the entrance to Baldanú, in la calle del Tesoro". The same space is occupied today by the

opera house An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically fo ...

, the

Teatro Real The Teatro Real (Royal Theatre) is an opera house in Madrid, Spain. Located at the Plaza de Oriente, opposite the Royal Palace, and known colloquially as ''El Real'', it is considered the top institution of the performing and musical arts in the ...

. Due to extensive changes in the royal offices, in 1612 the institution moved to the home of the Marquis of Leganes, with its facade on the " wide calle of San Bernardo" where it carried out its activities until about 1630, when all the property, income and instruments of the Academy were transferred to the Imperial College. Later, with the flowering in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

during the seventeenth century of academies in the scientific sphere, the Royal Academy of Medicine and Natural Science was founded in 1734. Soon afterwards the

Marquis of Ensenada A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman ...

ordered Jorge Juan to divide it into independent branches, and in 1752 the Ordinance Plan for the Royal Society of Sciences of Madrid was drawn up. This project and the Academy collapsed with the fall of Ensenada in 1754 and there was no attempt to revive it until February 7, 1834: a

decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used ...

for the creation of the Royal Academy of Science in Madrid, subsequently replaced by the Royal Decree for the creation of the Academy of Mathematics, Physics and Natural Sciences, on 25 February 1847. It carried out its first activities in various locations (in the National Museum of Painting in the Tower of Lujanes) until 1897 when it arrived at its current

headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

in the calle Valverde at numbers 22 and 24 (premises that were formerly occupied by the Royal Spanish Academy).

List of presidents

* 1848–1866: Antonio Remón Zarco del Valle y Huet * 1866–1882: José Solano de la Matalinares * 1882–1901: Cipriano Segundo Montesino y Estrada * 1901–1916: José Echegaray y Eizaguirre * 1916–1922:

Amós Salvador Rodrigáñez Amós Salvador Rodrigáñez (March 31, 1845 – September 4, 1922) was a Spanish politician and engineer. Economy and finance ministers of Spain Education ministers of Spain 1845 births 1922 deaths Governors of the Bank of Spain { ...

* 1922–1928: José Rodríguez Carracido * 1928–1934:

Leonardo Torres Quevedo Leonardo Torres y Quevedo (; 28 December 1852 – 18 December 1936) was a Spanish civil engineer and mathematician of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Torres was a pioneer in the development of the radio control and automated ...

* 1934–1938: Blas Cabrera y Felipe * 1940–1958: José Casares Gil * 1958–1966: Alfonso Peña Boeuf * 1966–1970: Julio Palacios Martínez * 1970–1985:

Manuel Lora Tamayo Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name) * Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * Manu ...

* 1985–2002: Ángel Martín Municio * 2002–2005: Carlos Sánchez del Río y Sierra * 2005–2009:

Alberto Galindo Tixaire Alberto is the Romance version of the Latinized form (''Albertus'') of Germanic ''Albert''. It is used in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. The diminutive forms are ''Albertito'' in Spain or ''Albertico'' in some parts of Latin America, Albertin ...

* 2009–2012: Miguel Ángel Alario y Franco * 2012–2015:

* 2015–present: José Elguero Bertolini

Structure

The Academy is composed of 54 full members, 90 national correspondents, honorary members, and foreign correspondents.

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spanish Royal Academy Of Sciences National academies of sciences Scientific organisations based in Spain Research institutes in the Community of Madrid Scientific organizations established in 1847 1847 establishments in Spain S

History

List of presidents

Structure

See also

References

External links