The Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen (KNAW, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences) is an organisation dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands.
In addition to various advisory and administrative functions it operates a number of research institutes and awards many prizes, including the Leeuwenhoek Medal in microbiology.
It was founded as the Koninklijk Instituut van Wetenschappen, Letterkunde en Schoone Kunsten (Royal Institute of Sciences, Literature and Fine Arts) by Lodewijk Napoleon on May 4, 1808 and renamed in 1816 to Koninklijk-Nederlandsch Instituut van Wetenschappen, Letteren en Schoone Kunsten. In 1851 it was disbanded and reestablished as the Koninklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen and in 1938 acquired its present name.
