The institution was founded in 1938 thanks to the impulse of
Eugenio d'Ors and
Pedro Sainz Rodríguez, who were inspired by the
Institute of France. The Decree of January 1, 1938, established that the Institute of Spain was made of six of the most relevant Spanish academies: the
Royal Spanish Academy (1713), the
Royal Academy of History (1738), the
Royal Academy of Sciences (1847), the
Royal Academy of Moral and Political Sciences (1857), the
Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando (1752) and the
Royal National Academy of Medicine (1734). All the members of the Institute were gathered for the first time on 6 January 1938, at the
University of Salamanca, and, together, they were briefly entrusted with the task of guiding and directing the cultural and research policies in Spain, until the
Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) was established. Since then, the institute has had three expansions: in 1946, when the
Royal Academy of Jurisprudence and Legislation (1763) and the
Royal Academy of Pharmacy (1737) were incorporated, in 2015, when the
Royal Academy of Engineering was incorporated (1994) and in 2017, when the last member, the
Royal Academy of Economic and Financial Sciences (1940), joined the institute. In addition to the ten mentioned, as of 2026, there are another 70 academies associated with the Institute of Spain. == Academies ==