Romanian Academy

The Romanian Academy (Academia Română) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 acting members who are elected for life.

According to its bylaws, the academy's main goals are the cultivation of Romanian language and Romanian literature, the study of the national history of Romania and research into major scientific domains. Some of the academy's fundamental projects are the Romanian language dictionary (Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române), the dictionary of Romanian literature, and the treatise on the history of the Romanian people.

History
On the initiative of C.A. Rosetti, the Academy was founded on April 1, 1866, as Societatea Literară Română. The founding members were illustrious members of the Romanian society of the age. The current President of the academy (since 2014) is Professor Ionel Valentin Vlad.

The name changed to Societatea Academică Romînă in 1867, and finally to Academia Română in 1879, during the reign of Carol I.

The founding members of the Academy:

The Presidents of the Academy:

Library
Established in 1867, the Bibilioteca Academiei Române has a collection of over seven million books and collections of drawings, engravings, maps, and coins. The Academy also operates its own publishing house.