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In 1570, King Charles IX granted the charter of an "academy of Music and Poetry" to the poet Jean-Antoine de Baïf and a musician named Gourville, who named it the Académie française. The Académie functioned informally until February 10, 1635, when Armand-Jean Cardinal Richelieu, a minister of Louis XIII, obtained letters patent from his King formalising it into a national academy for the literati, and limiting the number of its members. In anticipation of the formal creation of the body, several members were appointed in 1634.
The role of "protector" of the Académie was originally fulfilled by Richelieu, and after his death by Pierre Séguier, the Chancellor of France. When Séguier died in 1672Events England, France, Munster and Cologne invade the United Provinces, therefore this name is know as ´het rampjaar´ (the disaster year) in the Netherlands. March 15 Charles II of England issues the Royal Declaration of Indulgence. June 28 William III o, the role passed to King Louis XIVHyacinthe Rigaud (1701 Louis XIV (Louis-Dieudonne) ( 5 September 1638 1 September 1715) reigned as King of France and King of Navarre from 14 May 1643 until his death. He was a minor when he inherited the Crown; he did not actually assume personal control. Thereafter, the French head of state always served as the protector.
The Académie is the French official authority on the usages, vocabulary, and grammar of the French language, although its recommendations carry no legal power and are sometimes disregarded even by governmental authorities. It also encourages the use of French worldwide and awards literary prizes.
The Académie is charged with publishing an official dictionary of the French language . It has done so in 1694Events February 6 The colony Quilombo dos Palmares is destroyed. July 27 A Royal Charter is granted to the Bank of England. December 22 The Triennial Bill became law. December 28 Queen Mary II of England died; King William III of England, Scotland and Ire, 1718Events May 15 James Puckle, a London lawyer, patents the world's first machine gun. July 21 Treaty of Passarowitz signed November 22 Off the coast of Virginia, English pirate Edward Teach (best known as " Blackbeard") is killed in battle when a British bo, 1740Events May 31 Friedrich II comes to power in Prussia upon the death of his father, Friedrich Wilhelm I. October 20 Maria Theresia of Austria inherits the Habsburg hereditary dominions ( Austria, Bohemia, Hungary and present-day Belgium). However, her succ, 1762Events Neolin begins to preach. January 4 Britain declares war on Spain & Naples July 17 Catherine II becomes empress of Russia upon the murder of Peter III of Russia. Empress Go-Sakuramachi ascends to the throne of Japan British East India Company seizes, 1798Events February- October Irish Rebellion of 1798 April 7 The Mississippi Territory is organized from territory ceded by Georgia and South Carolina and is later twice expanded to include disputed territory claimed by both the U. and Spain April 26 France a, 1835Events January 1 Ole Pedersen Hoiland breaks into the Bank of Norway and steals 64. 000 dalers January 7 HMS Beagle anchors off the Chonos Archipelago. January 30 Unsuccessful assassination attempt against President Andrew Jackson in the United States Cap, 1878, and in 1932- 1935. The Académie continues work on the most recent (ninth) edition of the dictionary, of which the first volume (A to Enzyme) appeared in 1992, and the second volume (Éocène to Mappemonde) appeared in 2000.
As French culture and language have come under increasing pressure with the widespread availability of English media, the Académie has tried to prevent the anglicisation of the French language. It is as a direct result of a decision of the Académie that the French word for "computer" is "ordinateur" and that the field of study dealing with computers is known as "informatique" ( informatics), from the contraction of information and automatique. This latter term has then been adapted into a number of languages, including German and Spanish; it is also occasionally used in English, since it seems less oriented towards hardware issues than "computer science".