Historical eventDecember 91822

French Academy of Sciences

In a memoir read to the French Academy of Sciences, Augustin-Jean Fresnel coined the terms linear, circular, and elliptical polarization, and reported a direct refraction experiment verifying his theory that optical rotation is a form of birefringence.

Everything on December 9Original source

In context

When
Monday, December 9 1822204 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
19th century · 1820s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

Russia, Greece and some other countries used the Julian calendar into the early 20th century, so local records may show a date up to 13 days earlier.

At a glance

Dates: From 1666-12-22.

Place: 6th arrondissement of Paris, France.

Type: academy of sciences, national academy, and archives.

Founded / initiated by: Jean-Baptiste Colbert.

What came before

Part of: Institut de France.

What happened

History A heroic depiction of the activities of the Academy from 1698 The Academy of Sciences traces its origin to Colbert's plan to create a general academy. He chose a small group of scholars who met on 22 December 1666 in the King's library, near the present-day Bibliothèque Nationale , and thereafter held twice-weekly working meetings there in the two rooms assigned to the group. [ 1 ] The first 30 years of the academy's existence were relatively informal,

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 research. It was at the forefront of scientific developments in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, and is one of the earliest Academies of Sciences.

December 9 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1822French Academy of Sciences
  2. 2008Governor of Illinois
  3. 20122012 Nuevo León Learjet 25 crash
  4. 20132013 Bintaro train crash
  5. 2016Madagali
  6. 2016Park Geun-hye
  7. 2017Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017
  8. 2017Same-sex marriage in Australia
  9. 2019Whakaari / White Island
  10. 2021Central America
  11. 2022Member of the European Parliament

Also in 1822

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  • September 27Lettre à M. DacierIn a letter to the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres in Paris, Jean-François Champollion announced his initial successes in dec…
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Everything we record for 1822 →

Sources

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“French Academy of Sciences”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/french-academy-of-sciences-1822-december-9, accessed October 28, 2026.

Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.

Questions about this entry

When did French Academy of Sciences happen?

December 9 1822 — 204 years ago, on a Monday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

How do I cite this page?

Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.

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