Acad'emy, an association for the promotion of literature, science or art. The name is derived from a school which Plato taught in a grove near Athens, belonging to the Greek hero Academus. As generally used, the word now means a secondary school, or it may mean a body of men engaged in any scholarly, scientific or artistic pursuit, or even the building in which art treasures are kept or the work of the society is carried on. The French Academy, established by Richelieu in 1635, is the most noted of all the academies. As organized, it contained forty members, and its object was to control the French language and create a refined literary taste. The institution still exists very much as it was organized, and to be elected a member of it is one of the greatest honors which a literary person can receive. The first American academy was the American Philosophical Society, organized in 1744 in Philadelphia. The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia was organized in 1812. Since these were founded many other academies have been established, and before the development of the high school system these institutions, usually under the patronage of some religious society, afforded the only means of obtaining a secondary education.