History of the Academy
The Academy of Sciences of Lisbon was founded on 24 December 1779, after the approval of Queen Maria I. The main mentors and promotors of the Academy were the 2nd Duke of Lafões, João Carlos de Bragança, and Abbot José Correia da Serra. Their knowledge of the workings of similar European academies and societies was fundamental to the creation of a similar institution in Portugal. Also important was the role of Domingos Vandelli, whose connection to the teaching of natural sciences at the University of Coimbra proved instrumental in defining the mission of the Academy of Sciences, to demonstrate the usefulness of the knowledge produced by its members.
The first session was held on 16 January 1780. Called the Royal Academy of Sciences of Lisbon, it took on its current name in 1910. It is a national institution that maintains relations with academies and scientific societies in other countries.
Its founders, influenced by Enlightenment ideals, emphasized that "... this Academy of Sciences [is] consecrated to the glory and happiness of the public, for the advancement of national education, the perfection of the sciences and arts and the increase of popular industry".
It was initially made up of the Natural Sciences, Exact Sciences and Fine Arts classes, with permanent and corresponding members or fellows, as well as foreign correspondents. After its definitive installation in 1833 in the Convent of Our Lady of Jesus, of the Third Order of St Francis (and after the confirmation of possession of its premises following the extinction of the convents in 1834), the Academy reformulated its Statutes (1851) and reorganized itself into two classes, Sciences and Letters, which have remained to this day.
The Lisbon Academy of Sciences has played a unique role in scientific and technological development in Portugal. The collections of publications and Transactions it has published since the beginning of its activity bear witness to the history of science and literature in Portugal, as well as the evolution of the country regarding its scientific and cultural structures.
The collection of manuscripts, incunabula and old books (up to the beginning of the 19th century), the archival collection covering almost 250 years of the history of science, scientists and scholars who were its members, and all the pieces and objects in its museum collections are worthy of note.
Until the end of the 19th century, it maintained important scientific teaching activities, extending its vocation and responsibility for promoting knowledge and technical expertise. And it welcomed the birth of institutions that later became autonomous, namely the Vaccine Institution (1811), the Geological Commission (1857) and the Higher Course of Letters (1859).
The History of the Academy of Sciences of Lisbon helps us to understand the reasons for the important place it occupies in Portugal's science and technology system - an institution dedicated to promoting and disseminating scientific culture, as well as demonstrating the relevance of science and literature to the country's development.
