Aemula Lauri

The history of the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters 1760 – 2010

Aemula Lauri celebrates the Society’s 250th anniversary and is the first comprehensive study of the history of the Society in English.

Æmula Lauri has four parts:

Part I – from 1760 to 1811, is written by Brita Brenna, University of Oslo. The first phase of the Society´s history is examined from the point of view of geography of knowledge production, including space, place and travel, and the periods´ scientific networking.

Part II – from 1810 to 1870, is written by Magne Njåstad, Norwegian University of Science and Technology. With the start of the nineteenth century, the Society faced a chain of challenges. Its role as a progressive organization for promoting science became clear and its function as a kind of research council for supporting research was fortified. Another important dimension of this period was administering the Society´s collections which eventually lead to the building and establishment of a museum.

Part III – from 1870 to 1960 is written by Håkon With Andersen, Norwegian University of Science and Technology. With the establishment of its museum, the Society´s activities changed again, this time focusing on collections-oriented and museum-influenced activity. The period was also influenced by many events in Trondheim, such as the establishment of the Norwegian Institute of Technology (NTH) in 1910 and Norwegian College of Teaching in 1922.

Part IV – from 1960 to 2010 is written by Astrid Wale, Norwegian University of Science and Technology. The extensive expansion of the research and education sector in the course of the 1950s to 1960s created new challenges for the Society.

Society members can order the book by e-mail (post@dknvs.no). Member price is  NOK 500. The book can be collected in Elvegata 17, or shipped for an additional sum.