Institut d'Égypte 3.48

The Institut d’Égypte was a learned society centered on Egyptology. It was established in 1798 by Napoleon Bonaparte to carry out research during his Egyptian campaign.Early workIt first met on 24 August 1798, with Gaspard Monge as president, Bonaparte himself as vice-president and Joseph Fourier and Costaz as secretaries. It had 48 scholars and as with the Institut de France these were organised into sections, divided up as follows: 12 members - mathematics section, including Bonaparte himself, Costaz, Fourier, Malus, Monge. 10 members - physics and natural history section, including Berthollet, Desgenettes, Dolomieu, Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire. 6 members - political economy section, including Cafarelli, Tallien. 8 members - literature and arts section, including Denon. The Institut capitalised on the work of scholars and technical experts of the Commission des Sciences et des Arts and fostered the development of Egyptology so as to support the French expeditionary force. On 22 November 1799 the Institut took the decision to collect and publish its scholarly work as the Description de l'Égypte. The Institut lasted until its 47th and final meeting on 21 March 1801.