I didn't see any postings on the history of grant-making today, so I thought I'd add a couple comments (and Happy Friday!). I liked Charles' distinction between a "prize" and a "grant", and between aristocrats and professionals, but then it struck me that we might also consider how academies supported this change in research.
The AAAS, for example, was established by Massachusetts legislature on 4 May 1780, and sponsored awards (albeit these were small prizes). Its purpose, as described in its Charter of Incorporation, was, "to cultivate every art and science which may tend to advance the interest, honor, dignity, and happiness of a free, independent, and virtuous people." Its first award in 1796 honored distinguished work on "heat and light" was made possible by Benjamin Thompson (Count Rumford, a Loyalist, of all things).
As I was making an amendment to an agreement this morning, I caught myself referencing an NIH grant as being "awarded". We prefer "gifts" at my institution, but that got me thinking about how we control who is even allowed to compete for awards.
In any case, private enterprise can also support the development of professional research. One of my favorite characters in that regard is Nathaniel Bowditch who turned-down academic positions in mathematics offered by Harvard, the United States Military Academy and the University of Virginia. Wikipedia records that Bowditch refused these offers, "perhaps (in the case of the University of Virginia) because the $2,000 salary offered was two-thirds of the salary he received as president of the insurance company."
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