The reign of
King Frederick II of Prussia ("Frederick the Great") saw major changes to the Academy. In 1744, the
Nouvelle Société Littéraire and the Society of Sciences were merged into the
Königliche Akademie der Wissenschaften ("Royal Academy of Sciences") and in 1746 renamed again as
Académie Royale des Sciences et Belles-Lettres. An obligation from the new statute were public calls for ideas on unsolved scientific questions with a monetary reward for solutions. The Academy acquired its own research facilities in the 18th century, including an
observatory in 1709; an
anatomical theater in 1717; a
Collegium medico-chirurgicum in 1723; a
botanical garden in 1718; and a
laboratory in 1753. However, those were later taken over by the
University of Berlin. As a French-language institution its publications were in French such as the ''Histoire de l'Académie royale des sciences et belles lettres de Berlin'' which was published between 1745 and 1796. A linguistics historian from
Princeton University,
Hans Aarsleff, notes that before Frederick ascended the throne in 1740, the academy was overshadowed by similar bodies in
London and
Paris. Frederick made French the official language and speculative philosophy the most important topic of study. The membership was strong in mathematics and philosophy, and included notable philosophers such as
Immanuel Kant,
Jean-Baptiste le Rond d'Alembert,
Pierre-Louis de Maupertuis, and
Etienne de Condillac. However, the academy was in a crisis for two decades at mid-century, due to scandals and internal rivalries such as the debates between
Newtonianism and
Leibnizian views, and the personality conflicts between the philosopher
Voltaire and the mathematician
Maupertuis. At a higher level, Maupertuis, the director from 1746 to 1759 and a
monarchist, argued that the action of individuals was shaped by the character of the institution that contained them, and they worked for the glory of the state. By contrast, d'Alembert took a
republican rather than monarchical approach and emphasized the international
Republic of Letters as the vehicle for scientific advance. By 1789, however, the academy had gained an international repute while making major contributions to German culture and thought. Frederick invited
Joseph-Louis Lagrange to succeed
Leonhard Euler as director; both were world-class mathematicians. Other intellectuals attracted to the philosopher's kingdom were
Francesco Algarotti,
Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, and
Julien Offray de La Mettrie.
Immanuel Kant published religious writings in Berlin which would have been censored elsewhere in Europe. ==19th century==