The Montyon Prize () is a series of prizes awarded annually 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 ...

and the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

. They are endowed by the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

benefactor Baron de Montyon.

History

Prior to the start of the French Revolution, the Baron de Montyon established a series of prizes to be given away by the Académie Française, the

Académie des 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 ...

, and the

Académie Nationale de Médecine Situated at 16 Rue Bonaparte in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the Académie nationale de médecine (National Academy of Medicine) was created in 1820 by King Louis XVIII at the urging of baron Antoine Portal. At its inception, the institu ...

. These were abolished by the

National Convention The National Convention () was the constituent assembly of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for its first three years during the French Revolution, following the two-year National Constituent Assembly and the ...

, but were taken up again when Baron de Montyon returned to France in 1815. When he died, he bequeathed a large sum of money for the perpetual endowment of four annual prizes. The endowed prizes were as follows: * Making an industrial process less unhealthy * Perfecting of any technical improvement in a mechanical process * Book which during the year rendered the greatest service to humanity * The "prix de vertu" for the most courageous act on the part of a poor Frenchman These prizes were considered by some to be a forerunner of the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

List of winners

* A nurse named Lespagnier (1783) *

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(1820) *

François-Xavier-Joseph Droz François-Xavier-Joseph Droz (; 31 December 1773 – 9 November 1850) was a reactionary French writer on ethics, political science and political economy. Biography He was born at Besançon, where his family had supplied many notable members of ...

(1823) *

Antoine Germain Labarraque Antoine Germain Labarraque (28 March 1777 – 9 December 1850)Maurice Bouvet. Les grands pharmaciens: Labarraque (1777-1850)' (Revue d'histoire de la pharmacie, 1950, Volume 38, no. 128, pp. 97-107). was a French chemist and pharmacist, notable f ...

(1825) *

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(1831) *

Alexis de Tocqueville Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (29 July 180516 April 1859), was a French Aristocracy (class), aristocrat, diplomat, political philosopher, and historian. He is best known for his works ''Democracy in America'' (appearing in t ...

(1835) *

Philippe Ricord Philippe Ricord (10 December 1800 – 22 October 1889) was a French physician. Biography Philippe Ricord was born on 10 December 1800 in Baltimore. His father had escaped the French Revolution in 1790 from Marseille. He met French naturalist ...

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Louis Pasteur Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist, pharmacist, and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, Fermentation, microbial fermentation, and pasteurization, the la ...

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(1875) *

Mary Mapes Dodge Mary Elizabeth Mapes Dodge (January 26, 1831 – August 21, 1905) was an American children's author and editor, best known for her novel '' Hans Brinker''. She was the recognized leader in juvenile literature for almost a third of the nineteen ...

(1876) *

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(1878) *

Hector Malot Hector-Henri Malot (Hector Malot) (; 20 May 1830 – 18 July 1907) was a French writer born in La Bouille, Seine-Maritime. He studied law in Rouen and Paris, but eventually literature became his passion. He worked as a dramatic critic for ''Lloyd ...

(1878) *

George Henry Corliss George Henry Corliss (June 2, 1817 – February 21, 1888) was an American mechanical engineer and inventor, who developed the Corliss steam engine, which was a great improvement over any other stationary steam engine of its time. The Corliss ...

(1879) *

Jacques-Arsène d'Arsonval Jacques-Arsène d'Arsonval (8 June 1851 – 31 December 1940) was a French physician, physicist and inventor of the moving-coil d'Arsonval galvanometer and the thermocouple ammeter. D'Arsonval was an important contributor to the emerging field o ...

(1882) *

Augustin Charpentier Pierre Marie Augustin Charpentier (15 June 1852 – 4 August 1916) was a French physician and professor of the University of Nancy. He is known for his work on human vision and optics, including the discovery of the size–weight illusion. Li ...

(1885) *

Victor André Cornil Victor André Cornil, also André-Victor Cornil (17 June 1837 – 13 April 1908) was a French pathologist, histologist and politician born in Cusset, Allier. Biography He studied medicine in Paris, earning his doctorate in 1864. In ...

(1886) *

Louis Fréchette Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also * ...

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Jean-Henri Fabre Jean-Henri Casimir Fabre (; 21 December 1823 – 11 October 1915) was a French naturalist, entomologist, and author known for the lively style of his popular books on the lives of insects. Biography Fabre was born on 21 December 1823 in Saint- ...

Marie Célestine Amélie d'Armaillé Marie Célestine Amélie d'Armaillé (née, de Ségur; known as the Comtesse d'Armaillé; 8 January 1830 – 7 December 1918) was a French writer, biographer, and historian. In 1887, she was a recipient of the Montyon Prize from the Académie Fran ...

(1887) *

Claire Julie de Nanteuil Claire Julie de Nanteuil (née, Pascalis; pen names, Mrs. P. de Nanteuil and Mrs. de Nanteuil; 27 October 1834 – 17 June 1897) was a 19th-century French writer. She was a two time recipient of the Montyon Prize. Nanteuil died in 1897 Biography ...

(1888) *

(1890) * François Marie Galliot (1895) *

Juliette Heuzey Juliette Heuzey (; after marriage, Goyau; pen names, Jules-Philippe Heuzey, J.Ph. Heuzey, Mme. Georges Goyau; 1 January 1865 – 7 July 1952) was a French writer. She was a recipient of the Montyon Prize. Biography Juliette Heuzey was born 1 Janu ...

(1897) *

Édouard Foà Édouard Foà, born Aron Fortuné Emmanuel Édouard Georges Foà, (17 December 1862–29 June 1901) was a late 19th-century French Geographical exploration, explorer and travel writer. He is mainly known for two extensive Exploration, expeditio ...

(1897 and 1901) * Ludovic de Contenson (1902). *

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(1903) *

Laure Conan Marie-Louise-Félicité Angers (9 January 1845 – 6 June 1924), better known by her pen name Laure Conan, was a French Canadian writer and journalist. She is regarded as one of the first French-Canadian female novelists and the writer of th ...

(1903) * Paul Acker (1904) *

Charles Nicolle Charles Jules Henri Nicolle (21 September 1866 – 28 February 1936) was a French bacteriologist who received the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his identification of lice as the transmitter of epidemic typhus. Family Nicolle was born to Aline Lo ...

(1909, 1912, 1914) *

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and Julia Stell (1916) *

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(1935) * Valentine Thomson (1937) * Germaine Acremant (1940) *

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(1955) * Kitty Ponse * Antoine de La Garanderie (1970) * Gaston Bouthoul (1971) * Bertrand de Margerie (1972) * Dominique-Marie Dauzet (1996) * Alexandre Jollien (2000) * Alberte van Herwynen (2001) * Charles-Nicolas Peaucellier * René Guitton (2002) * Michèle-Irène Brudny (2003) *

Jacques Julliard Jacques Julliard (4 March 1933 – 8 September 2023) was a French historian, columnist and essayist, and a union leader. He was the author of numerous books. Life Early years Jacques Julliard was born on 4 March 1933 in Brénod, Ain. His father ...

(2004) * Joël Bouessée (2004) * Henri Hude (2005) * Renaud Girard (2006) * Marie-Frédérique Pellegrin (2007) *

Jean-François Mattéi Jean-François Mattéi (; 9 March 1941 – 24 March 2014) was a French philosopher and professor of Greek philosophy and political philosophy at the University of Nice A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research whi ...

(2008) * Myriam Revault D'Allonnes (2009) * William Marx (2010) * Stéphane Chauvier (2011) * Bérénice Levet (2012) * Anca Vasiliu (2013) * Fabrice Wilhelm (2014) * Nathalie Heinich (2015) *

Hervé Gaymard Hervé Gaymard (born 31 May 1960) is a French politician and a member of The Republicans conservative party. He served as the country's Minister of Finance from 30 November 2004 until his resignation on 25 February 2005. Gaymard attended S ...

(2016) * Denis Lacorne (2017) *

Gilles Lipovetsky Gilles Lipovetsky (; born 24 September 1944) is a French philosopher, writer, and sociologist. Life and career Lipovetsky was born in Millau in 1944. He studied philosophy at the University of Paris, and participated in the 1968 student upri ...

(2018) *

Isabelle de Lamberterie Isabel is a female name of Iberian origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of ''Elizabeth (given name), Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew ''Elisheba''). Arising in the 12th c ...

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External links

Catholic encyclopedia entry

References

{{Reflist Académie Française awards Awards of the French Academy of Sciences