281st anniversary
The Royal Academy: a long story short
‘To spread enlightenment’ succinctly captures the history of the Royal Academy in a single phrase. The Royal Academy began as an idea before establishing its current identity.
By Rikke Reinholdt Petersen
The idea originated with the Danish King Christian VI and an edict dated 1743 declared that the Academy was be a royal academy of science and letters. In keeping with the times, the Age of Enlightenment, the king wished the Academy to serve to spread enlightenment – to gather knowledge and share it for the benefit of king and country. Another aim was to keep pace with other European countries, where similar scientific academies had already begun to emerge.
The royal edict represented the final approval following what the Royal Academy today considers its actual founding date: 13 November 1742. At Stormgade 261 in Copenhagen, four gentlemen convened what would later be remembered as the Royal Academy’s first meeting. Councillor of Justice Hans Gram, Professor Erik Pontoppidan, Secretary of the Danish Chancellery Henrik Henrichsen (later Hielmstierne) and the owner of no. 261, Privy Councillor Johan Ludvig Holstein drew up what the king would later hone a few months later to bestow on Denmark its own academy of science and letters.
In 1776 the Royal Academy moved into its first permanent location, the Prince’s Palace, which now houses the National Museum of Denmark. Meetings were always held here, though occasionally elsewhere due to logistical considerations, e.g. at Christiansborg Palace. A core activity both then and now, the meetings provided an opportunity for researchers from a broad array of scientific fields to engage in the exchange of interdisciplinary knowledge and discussion. New members were also elected to the Royal Academy’s various academic groups. Called classes, these groups have changed over time and are now divided into the humanities class and the natural sciences class.
Long before the Royal Academy had a permanent roof over its head, the foundation of its organisational structure was laid. The king took on the role of patron and Holstein assumed overall responsibility as the Academy’s first president, with secretary Hielmstierne providing assistance. These two positions still exist but have since expanded. Today, the Academy is led by a presidium comprising nine research members: the president, the secretary general (formerly secretary), the editor, a president for each class and two representatives from each class. The proud tradition of the nation’s regent serving as patron continues to today, with HM Queen Margrethe II at the helm.
Scientific publications represent some of the Royal Academy’s initial major endeavours. As early as 1745, the groundwork was being laid for the Academy’s own publishing house, which continues to publish books. Another project that occupied the Academy in its early years was a geographic survey to map Denmark. Until the mid-eighteenth century, measurements had only been carried out sporadically but were then largely systematized under the direction of the Royal Academy. The inherently scientific and exploratory nature of the project reflected the spirit of the Age of Enlightenment and lasted until 1843.
In the 1800s the Royal Academy began a new and significant chapter in its history. An important year was 1876, which is when J.C. Jacobsen founded the Carlsberg Foundation. Based on his strong commitment to and respect for science, Jacobsen entrusted the members of Academy in a deed of gift with the task of selecting the Foundation’s executive board from among Academy’s members. Due to its affiliation with the Carlsberg Foundation, the Academy was invited to move its headquarters at the end of the nineteenth century to the Foundation’s new building at H.C. Andersen’s Boulevard 35 in the heart of Copenhagen. Both institutions continue to share the same address to this day.
The new building and the new century saw additional expansions and innovations, the Academy growing in both size and number. A crucial year was 1920, which is when the Academy welcomed its first female member, Marie Skłodowska-Curie, who, together with a handful of other top scientists, including Albert Einstein, were inducted into that Academy that same year at the behest of, e.g. the Danish physicist Niels Bohr, who would later become president of the Academy from 1939–1962.
Much has happened since the four founders met in 1742. For better or worse, both science and world history have witnessed far too much to remain unchanged, which of course also applies to the Academy. Fortunately, the curiosity and desire to understand the world, primarily through science, that our predecessors cultivated in the Age of Enlightenment endure as a cornerstone of the Academy to this day.
