The Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium ( , sometimes referred to as ) is the independent learned society of science and arts of the French Community of Belgium. One of Belgium's numerous academies, it is the French-speaking counterpart of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts. In 2001 both academies founded a joint association for the purpose of promoting science and arts on an international level: The Royal Academies for Science and the Arts of Belgium (RASAB). All three institutions are located in the same building, the Academy Palace in Brussels.The Academy Palace , at kvab.be

History A preexisting literary society was founded in 1769 under the auspices of Karl von Cobenzl, plenipotentiary of the Austrian Netherlands under Empress Maria Theresa (hence its nickname ""). In 1772 Cobenzl's successor Georg Adam, Prince of Starhemberg continued the efforts of his predecessor by expanding the society to a scientific academy. This academy was granted the right to bear the title of Imperial and Royal Academy of Science and Letters of Brussels by Empress Letters Patent dated 16 December 1772. The sovereign instructed the academics to animate the intellectual life of the country and to stimulate and coordinate scientific research in a wide variety of fields.

This institution did not survive the occupation by the French of the Austrian Netherlands, and the academy held its last plenary session on 21 May 1794.

William I, king of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands since 1815, reinstituted the academy by Royal Decree of 17 May 1816 on the title of Royal Academy of Sciences and Letters (). Work was restarted with 8 remaining academics associated with other Dutch and Belgian fellow-members. Its legal personality is recognised by the law of 2 August 1924.

Belgian Academy After the 1830 Belgian Revolution, the Academy found its permanent place in the social order and on 1 December 1845 Leopold I of Belgium named it . He set up three classes: science, letters and fine arts, each with 30 members of Belgian nationality. Confirm Art. 2 the King is Royal Patron, and bestows membership.see Handelsblad (Het) 05-12-1845 Founding members included: Nicaise de Keyser, Eugène Simonis, Louis Gallait, Jan August Hendrik Leys, Jean-Baptiste Madou, François-Joseph Navez, Henri van der Haert, Eugène Joseph Verboeckhoven, Gustaf Wappers, Guillaume Geefs, Joseph-Pierre Braemt, Tilman-François Suys, Louis Roelandt, Charles Auguste de Bériot, François-Joseph Fétis, Théodore-Gérard Hanssen and Henri Vieuxtemps.

In 1938, the was created as an independent solely Dutch-speaking Flemish academy while the Royal Academy of Belgium remained a bilingual institution hosting members both from the north and from the south of the country. The bilingual status of the Royal Academy however caused difficulties over the course of the years, which ultimately were resolved in 1971 by splitting the academy into two independent monolingual entities. geschiedenis (history), at kvab.be The law of 1 July 1971 put both academies in linguistic equality: since then, they each exclusively use their own language (French or Dutch) and they bear the same denomination. In 1999 the Dutch-speaking academy changed its name to "Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts" ().

Organization and members The academy is divided into four major classes and assemblies are held monthly: Class of Sciences: mathematical, physical, chemical, biological, geological sciences and related disciplines; Class of Letters and moral and political sciences: history, archeology, letters, philosophy, moral and political sciences, sociology, economy, law, psychology and economy. Class of Arts: painting, architecture and sculpture, music, cinematographic and audiovisual arts, performing arts, history of art, art criticism. Class of Technical Sciences: various engineering resulting from sciences, including their impact on society.

Each class is composed of 60 members and 50 associate members, who are foreign members or Belgians residing abroad.

Location

The Academy is headquartered in the Academy Palace, which is on the / in Brussels.

Through a royal decree issued on 30 April 1876, the palace was put at the disposal of the two existing French-speaking Belgian academies: the Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium, which had been founded in 1772, and the Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium () founded in 1841.

Three further academies came to share the space in the 20th century: the French-speaking Royal Academy of French Language and Literature of Belgium ( or ARLLFB), founded in 1920; the Dutch-speaking Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium (), founded in 1938 and called since 1999 the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts ( or KVAB); and the Dutch-speaking (), also founded in 1938.

Permanent secretaries The lead director is a permanent secretary (). Since November 2007, the secretary is Hervé Hasquin.

Prizes and awards Many scientific and art prizes (fr) are awarded each year in different kinds of subjects.

RASAB membership Since its foundation in 2001 the Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium has been a member of RASAB (the Royal Academies for Science and the Arts of Belgium) – along with its Dutch-speaking sister-academy KVAB – in order to coordinate and promote the 25 National Scientific Committees and the international activities in Belgium.

Presidents 1773: Joseph de Crumpipen 1816–1820: Baron Guillaume de Feltz 1820–1832: Charles-Alexandre, 3rd Prince de Gavre 1835: Baron Goswin de Stassart 1836 1837: Baron Goswin de Stassart 1838 1839: Baron Goswin de Stassart 1840 1841: Baron Goswin de Stassart 1842 1845: Baron Goswin de Stassart 1844: Baron Goswin de Stassart 1847: Baron Goswin de Stassart 1853: Baron Goswin de Stassart 1870: Gustave Dewalque 1874: Nicaise De Keyser 1876: Henri Alexis Brialmont 2010: Pierre Bartholomée 2016: Charles J. Joachain 2017: Monique Mund-Dopchie

Famous members A full list can be found in the (1769-2005). Name Election André-Marie Ampère8 October 1825 Pierre Alechinsky 8 January 1987 Auguste Beernaert 8 May 1899 Lennox Berkeley 5 May 1983Jean Cocteau1955 Salvador Dalí 6 January 1972Charles Darwin15 December 1870Giorgio de Chirico3 July 1958Manuel de Falla10 January 1935Paul Delvaux3 July 1958Dmitri Shostakovich1960Jacques Delors29 May 1999 Théodore Dubois 5 January 1911 Paul Dukas 8 January 1820James Ensor8 January 1825 Erol Gelenbe15 May 2015 Victor Horta6 February 1919 Joseph Jongen1 July 1921Queen Elisabeth of Belgium1953Jules Lismonde6 May 1982

See also Science and technology in Belgium Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage Culture of Belgium Science and technology in Flanders Belgian literature

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links ARB Website KVAB Website RASAB Website