Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters

The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters (, DKNVS) is a Norwegian learned society based in Trondheim. It was founded in 1760 and is Norway's oldest scientific and scholarly institution. The society's Protector is King Harald V of Norway. Its membership consists of no more than 435 members elected for life among the country's most prominent scholars and scientists. The society’s Danish name predates both written standards for Norwegian and has remained unchanged after Norway’s independence from Denmark in 1814 and the spelling reforms of the 20th century. History DKNVS was founded in 1760 by the bishop of Nidaros Johan Ernst Gunnerus, headmaster at the Trondheim Cathedral School Gerhard Schøning and Councillor of State Peter Frederik Suhm under the name Det Trondhiemske Selskab (the Trondheim Society). From 1761 it published academic papers in a series titled Skrifter. It was the northernmost learned society in the world, and was established in a time when Norway did not have universities or colleges. It received the royal affirmation of its statutes on 17 July 1767, and was given its present name at a ceremony on 29 January 1788, king Christian VII of Denmark's birthday. In 1771, when Johann Friedrich Struensee took over the de facto rule of Denmark-Norway, Johan Ernst Gunnerus was summoned to Copenhagen, where he was given the mission to establish a university in Norway. Gunnerus did not suggest that the university be established in Trondhjem, but in southern Christianssand (Kristiansand), due to its proximity to Jutland. If this happened, he would have the Society of Sciences and Letters moved to Christianssand, to correspond with the new university. However, the plan was never carried out. Struensee's reign ended in 1772, but he reportedly dismissed the plan before this. (Kristiansand got its university in 2007.)