of the
Holy Roman Empire ''''
of 1712 where the Naturae Curiosorum Ephemerides'' were published The Leopoldina was founded in the
imperial city of
Schweinfurt on 1 January 1652 under the Latin name sometimes translated into English as "Academy of the Curious as to Nature." It was founded by four local physicians –
Johann Laurentius Bausch, the first president of the society,
Johann Michael Fehr,
Georg Balthasar Metzger, and
Georg Balthasar Wohlfarth; and was the only academy like it at the time making it the oldest academy of science in Germany., pp. 7–8 It was recognized by
Emperor Leopold I who raised it to an academy in 1677, and then declared it an Imperial Academy in 1687, naming it
Sacri Romani Imperii Academia Caesareo-Leopoldina Naturae Curiosorum and allowing it to carry his name. At first, the society conducted its business by correspondence and was located wherever the president was working. Eight of them were murdered by the Nazis over the course of
World War II. Nevertheless, the Leopoldina did not suffer as much influence from the Nazi regime as other German academies, thanks to the president of the Leopoldina at the time,
Emil Abderhalden. After World War II, Halle became part of
East Germany. During this time, the German Democratic Republic shut down all societies, leading the members of the Leopoldina to meet unofficially and in private. Efforts were made to reestablish the Academy, however. An edition of Goethe's 'The Works of Science' began to be edited under the Academy's name in 1947, and lectures started again in 1948. However, the Academy was not officially reopened until 1952. This reopening came just in time for the Academy to celebrate its tercentenary. After reopening, the Leopoldina successfully resisted attempts from the German Democratic Republic to reconstitute the Academy as a specifically East German institute and continued to think of itself as an institution for the whole of Germany. This was greatly affected by the building of the
Berlin Wall in August 1961. The Academy was able to stay independent of national politics, which allowed it to bridge East and West Germany through scientific ideas. The yearly meeting of the Academy was planned for October of that year in West Germany; invitations had been sent out in June announcing that they would be discussing energy; but less than two months later letters of cancellation were sent out, stating that members living in the GDR would not be given permission to travel. In 1991, after
German reunification, the Leopoldina was granted the status of a non-profit organisation. It is funded jointly by the German government and the government of the state of
Saxony-Anhalt., pp. 10–14 A new section was also created for the history of culture with the emphasis on medicine and the natural sciences. In November 2007, German science minister
Annette Schavan announced the renaming of the Leopoldina to "German Academy of Sciences" (
Deutsche Akademie der Wissenschaften), and said that "due to its international prestige, the Leopoldina is predestined to represent Germany within the circle of international academies." Karsten Jedlitschka says that the Academy was named the first national science Academy in Germany in February 2008. As the German Academy of Sciences, it is a counterpart to the rights and responsibilities of institutions such as Britain's
Royal Society and the United States'
National Academy of Sciences. As the national academy, the Leopoldina will act as a consulting service on matters of science and science related policy for the German government, including parliament and social and political organizations. == Activities ==