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1777, Bavaria, Maximilian III Joseph. Silver "Bavarian Academy of Science" Medal.

Mint Place: Munich Mint Period: 1759-1777 State: Bavaria (German State) Reference: Witt. 2136, Hauser 79, Lav 63. R! Denomination: Award Medal - Bavarian Academy of Science Condition: Minor deposits, weight-adjusting marks and a few scratches, otherwise a nice lustre XF-AU! Diameter: 29mm Weight: 8.76gm Material: Silver

Obverse: Crowned coat-of-arms within wreath. Motto of the Bavarian Academy of Science above. Legend: TENDIT AD AEQUUM . ("It strives for the Adequate.")

Reverse: Inscription in three lines terminated by stars. All within wreath. Legend: * ACADEMIA SCIENTIARUM BOICA *

The Bavarian Academy of Sciences was founded by Elector Maximilian III Joseph in 1759. The heraldic motto of the Academy is "Tendit ad Aequum" - "It strives for the Adequate". Foundation President was Graf Sigmund von und zu Haimhausen. The foundation is first of all owed to Privy Councilor Johann Georg Lori (1723-1787) who had founded the Bavarian Scientists‘ Society in 1758. In the beginning the Academy was divided in two classes, a historical class and a philosophical class, whereas philosophy in the back then scientific understanding also comprised mathematics and physics.

The Academy was accommodated in the Wilhelminum since 1783, which is the previous main building of the Jesuit Order in Neuhauser Straße in Munich. In April 1944 the Wilhelminum was destroyed by the bombs of World War II. However, the Free State of Bavaria has created a new and worthy domicile for the Academy in the north-eastern wing of the Munich residence which could be moved into in the anniversary year 1959.

The Academy has full and corresponding members as well as honorary members. Right from the beginning the Academy selected its members without considering the religion and nationality. In this process the members were/are elected as members following the proposal of a full member. It is not possible to apply for a membership. At first the election took place in the corresponding class and then once again in the plenum, i.e. by both classes in joint session. Only full members are entitled to vote. Only persons are elected who have contributed to a “substantial expansion of the knowledge base” of their subject area. New members are elected once a year.

The number of full members who must have their residence within the Free State of Bavaria is limited to 45, the number of the corresponding members is limited to 80 in each class. In case of the limitation full members who are older than 70 years of age are excluded, so that there are approx. 120 full members as a rule. If a full member moves its residence in another federal state or abroad, it automatically receives the status of a corresponding member.

The Bavarian Academy can look back at a long tradition. Many famous and important scientists were members of the Academy, among them Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Justus von Liebig, Theodor Mommsen, Alexander and Wilhelm von Humboldt, Kurt Sethe, Max Planck, Otto Hahn, Albert Einstein, Max Weber, Arnold Sommerfeld, Alfred Pringsheim, Werner Heisenberg and Adolf Butenandt, to just name a few. Among them are many Nobel laureates.

Maximilian III Joseph (28 March 1727 – 30 December 1777) was Prince-elector of Bavaria from 1745 to 1777.

Born in Munich, Maximilian was the eldest son of Emperor Charles VII and his wife Marie Amalie, Archduchess of Austria. His maternal grandparents were Emperor Joseph I and Wilhelmina Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg.

Upon his father's death in 1745, he inherited a country in the process of being invaded by Austrian armies (see War of the Austrian Succession), and quickly abandoned his father's imperial pretenses and made peace with Maria Theresa in the Treaty of Füssen, in which he agreed to support her husband, Grand Duke Francis Stephen of Tuscany, in the upcoming imperial election.

MaximilianJoseph was a progressive and enlightened ruler who did much to improve the development of his country. In 1747 the porcelain factory at Nymphenburg was established. Munich's first academic institution, the Bavarian Academy of Sciences, was founded in 1759 by Maximilian III. During the severe dearth in 1770 Maximilian sold crown jewels to pay corn shipments. In this year he also issued his edict against the extravagant pomposity of the Church which contributed to the end of the era of Bavarian rococo. He also forbade the Oberammergau Passion Play. In 1771 the elector regulated the general school attendance.

In December of 1777 Maximilian Joseph died of small pox without leaving an heir. As the last of the junior branch of the Wittelsbach dynasty which derived from Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor and had ruled Bavaria since early 14th century, his death led to a succession dispute and the brief War of the Bavarian Succession. Maximilian's consort Maria Anna Sophia of Saxony negotiated with Prussia to secure Bavaria's independence against Austria. Ultimately, he was succeeded by his distant cousin, the Elector Palatine Karl IV from the senior branch of the dynasty.

Max III Joseph is buried in the crypt of the Theatinerkirche in Munich.

Max III Joseph ordered in 1751 François de Cuvilliés to construct the splendid rococo Cuvilliés Theatre. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was received by Maximilian III Joseph, who was skilled in music and composed, but due to strict frugality no post was offered.

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