The Leconte Prize (
French: ') is a prize created in 1886 by the
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 method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...
to recognize important discoveries in mathematics, physics, chemistry, natural history or medicine. In recent years the prize has been awarded in the specific categories of mathematics, physics, and biology. Scientists and mathematicians of all nationalities are eligible for the award. The value of the award in the late 19th and early 20th century was
F50,000 (at the time equivalent to
£2,000, or
US$
The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
10,000), about five times as much as the annual salary of the average professor in France. The award was F22,000 in 1984, F20,000 in 2001,
€
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3,000 in 2008, €2,500 in 2010, €2,000 in 2014, and €1,500 in 2019.
The Leconte Prize was established with a donation from a businessman, Victor Eugene Leconte, to the academy. The donation specified that a F50,000 prize would be awarded every three years for outstanding past work, and that up to 1/8th of the interest earned by the fund each year could be awarded as ''encouragements'', i.e., support for ongoing and future research. The academy did not award any large (F50,000) prizes between 1905 and 1916, but did award a total of F30,000 in ''encouragements'' during that period.
Recipients
See also
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List of biology awards
This list of biology awards is an index to articles about notable awards for biology. It includes a general list and lists of ecology, genetics and neuroscience awards. It excludes awards for biochemistry, biomedical science, medicine, ornithol ...
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List of mathematics awards
This list of mathematics awards contains articles about notable awards for mathematics. The list is organized by the region and country of the organization that sponsors the award, but awards may be open to mathematicians from around the world. Som ...
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List of physics awards
A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
Notes
References
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Physics awards
Mathematics awards
Biology awards
Awards of the French Academy of Sciences
1886 establishments in France
Awards established in 1886