Our history

The Institut de France – with its five Academies encompassing all the disciplines of knowledge and the arts – resolutely pursues the mission assigned to it by the young Republic in 1795 : “Contribute on a non-profit basis to the improvement and influence of letters, the sciences and the arts. To bestow prizes for useful inventions and discoveries, distinguished successes in the arts, great deeds and the continual practice of personal and social virtues.”

It is a parliament of the learned world, bringing together nearly 500 academicians, associate members, and foreign correspondents. It is also one of the nation’s largest patrons of research, philanthropy, and the arts, distributing nearly 25 million euros each year, through its foundations.

Important dates in the history of the Academies and the Institut de France.