Until 1970, the Sorbonne was the most prestigious academic institution in France

Europe’s first universities emerged from medieval church school

The modern university can be traced back to the Middle Ages, when schools in Italy, France, and England initially trained clergy before expanding to include lay students. By the 10th and 11th centuries, they taught law, medicine, and theology across Europe.

France has a strict and explicit separation of church and state

France's principle of laïcité—strict separation of church and state—prohibits religious expression in public institutions, including the wearing of religious clothing and symbols in public schools and by government employees.

The Pontifical Academy of Sciences is the only supranational academy of sciences in the world, with its members giving up some of their sovereignty to achieve shared objectives.

Sartre was an elaborate prankster as a student

After Charles Lindbergh completed his first solo transatlantic voyage in 1927, the French philosopher—then a student at Paris' École normale supérieure—called various newspapers to tell them the American pilot would be granted an honorary degree. Over 500 people showed up to find a Lindbergh lookalike Sartre had hired. "The public fell for it, and an old man even kissed his hand," Sartre later wrote.

There's no definitive proof that Boulanger, the supposed inventor of the restaurant, ever lived

Legend has it that Boulanger's Paris soup shop was the first modern restaurant, but historian Rebecca Spang found no definitive proof that he ever lived. She did, however, find multiple documents referencing a different 18th-century Parisian, Mathurin Roze de Chantoiseau, as the "creator" of restaurants. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

The word 'restaurant' comes from the Latin for 'restore'

Many believe the word came into use thanks to Boulanger, an 18th-century Parisian soup vendor. According to legend, his shop claimed it served "bouillons restaurants," or "restorative broths."

Historians believe the first modern restaurant was opened in 1765

A Parisian soup salesman named Boulanger is often credited with opening the first modern restaurant and was renowned for serving meat in poulette sauce.

'The Republic of Letters' was an analog internet for the Enlightenment.

The virtual intellectual society exchanged tens of thousands of letters and spanned several continents. Some of its most avid correspondents were Voltaire, Benjamin Franklin, and Saint Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits.

The history of student loans can be traced back as far as the 1400s.

Sartre's 1980 funeral attracted a massive crowd

The legendary existentialist died April 15, 1980. A week later, mourners packed the streets of Paris to pay tribute. Estimates suggest that between 20,000 and 50,000 people were in attendance. In the Associated Press footage below, you can watch them following the hearse from the hospital where the thinker died to his resting place in Montparnasse Cemetery.

The Academy of Lynxes—a 17th-century science academy—was cofounded by an 18-year-old whose father suspected he was associating with sorcerers and magicians.

Sartre and de Beauvoir's literary journal was named after a Charlie Chaplin movie

The couple founded the magazine Les Temps Modernes in 1945 and it quickly became essential reading for French intellectuals. Its name came from "Modern Times," Charlie Chaplin's 1936 movie that satirized the industrial revolution's dehumanizing effects.

University of California Santa Barbara produced 6 Nobel prize winners

The public school system is ranked as the eighth best by Forbes, and 56 of its faculty are members in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. See more figures on the school here.

See US News’ most recent business school ranking

Although Harvard is often cited as the most prestigious MBA program in the US (given that it is considered to have pioneered the modern version of the MBA), US News ranked the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton as 2025’s best business school.

The first glasshouse was constructed in 1931

The Maison de Verre in Paris was built to house a doctor's office on the ground level and an apartment upstairs. Unlike the typical model that would follow, this glass house exposed very little of the home's interior.

During the Medieval Period, urban populations grew significantly

As workers moved from fields to cities throughout the era, large metropolises of enduring strategic importance were formed from Paris, France, to Baghdad, Iraq.

What was the French Revolution?

This 12-minute video provides an overview of the French Revolution of 1789, a conflict brewed from food shortages and economic hardships. On May 5, 1789, French King Louis XVI called a meeting of the three groups--known as estates--made up of...

Charlemagne sparked a medieval revival of learning and Roman culture

During the Carolingian Renaissance, Charlemagne—the king of the Franks and later the emperor of much of Western Europe—and his successors promoted education, the arts, and scholarship. Monasteries preserved hundreds of Roman texts, while architecture and artistic styles drew inspiration from classical Rome.

Voltaire's writing sent him into exile

In 1717, the writer's satirical poem "La Henriade" landed him in prison for a year. By 1726, the French government's distaste for his work caused him to leave the country for England, though he returned a few years later. That would be short-lived: In 1734, his "Lettres Philosophiques" sent him packing again, moving to Champagne, then Berlin, then Switzerland, before finally returning to Paris in 1778.

Reasons the wealthy like to give to universities

Every year, higher education receives the lion’s share of philanthropy for key reasons. Universities have huge budgets and can handle big sums. They also oversee a broad range of initiatives tailored to an individual’s goals, and are particularly credible institutions with long track records and strong brands.

In the 1950s, the Vatican included Simone de Beauvoir's 'The Second Sex' on its list of forbidden books.

The story of Hypatia, a leading Roman scholar murdered by monks

Hypatia of Alexandria was a secular philosopher in Egypt who headed a university, improved scientific instruments, penned textbooks, and advised the city's leaders. As a Neoplatonist, she approached numbers as a sacred language. Religious fervor and her visible advisory role led to her brutal dismemberment by rogue monks.

Explore the French palace royals fled from during the 1789 revolution

This virtual reality tour lets viewers explore the Palace of Versailles, which King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette were forced to flee during the French Revolution. Versailles was later made a public establishment by order of King...

One of Sartre and de Beauvoir's lovers accused them of exploitation

The philosophical duo's open relationship sometimes included shared partners, including de Beauvoir's students. One of those students, Bianca Lamblin, wrote a book, "A Disgraceful Affair," about the experience and characterized it as sexual exploitation.

Explore the list of Pontifical Academicians that make up the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

David Ogilvy once called WPP Founder Martin Sorrell ‘odious’

WPP acquired Ogilvy & Mather, David Ogilvy’s agency, in 1989. Ogilvy later offered Sorrell a rare apology letter, which Sorrell kept framed in his office.

Who died during the French Revolution of 1789?

This article examines the human cost of the 1789 French Revolution, during which up to 17,000 people were guillotined and many more were killed by other means. A majority of the guillotine deaths were meted out during the Reign of Terror, a...

30,000 men known as the 'League of Broke Husbands' once protested Dior's luxury fashion designs

In the 1940s, these men living in post-war France were angry about the waste and cost of the fabric needed to make its luxury clothing. Today, Dior is owned by luxury conglomerate LVMH.

Music of the French Revolution

Listen to the melodies of the French Revolution of 1789 in this resource by the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Reconstructed by three professionals, these 10 songs from France's revolutionary era offer a glimpse into the haunting realities of such change. The songs were recreated based on musical scores included in fashion magazines from the era. French and English lyrics are provided for each song.

Loyola's 98-year-old team chaplain became a beloved figure during the 2018 tournament

Sister Jean became an international celebrity in 2018 when she cheered Loyola Chicago's Ramblers to the Final Four at age 98, inspiring bobbleheads and merchandise before passing away in October 2025 at 106.

The Flying University was an illegal initiative to provide higher education to women

Restrictions from the Russian Empire on women's education drove Polish academics to set up illegal meetings where classes could operate in secret. Lecture locations constantly changed, keeping the university secret from Russian authorities for two decades.

Galileo Galilei—considered the father of modern science—was once president of the Academy of Lynxes and used the name Galileo Galilei Linceo on the title pages of his works in its honor.

The earliest colonial schools were often religious

The earliest American schools were far from our notions of “public” or “private”—they were neighborhood institutions, often founded by religious groups, that sought to educate children academically and spiritually.

Art Deco formally began in France in 1925

The design style—often associated with 1920s New York—is named after the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris, which featured many works in the style, which was already popular in France.

Private education offered an alternative for Black Americans

The early public school system was ostensibly designed for all Americans, but it was also racially segregated, offering substandard schools for Black Americans. Some private schools were founded to combat that problem, including St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, the United States' oldest predominantly Black Catholic high school.

Only one region in France can legally call its sparkling wine Champagne.

On an island off Cannes, monks make their own wine

Saint-Honorat Island is home to the Lérins Abbey, where an order of monks makes wine, liqueurs, and olive oil—when they’re not praying.

Dom Pérignon was a 17th-century French monk often inaccurately credited with inventing Champagne

You’ve probably heard of Dom Pérignon the brand, but what do you know about Dom Pérignon the man? He is often credited with inventing Champagne—which is why the iconic (and expensive) Champagne house is named after him—but the truth is he simply pioneered many methods for manufacturing it.

Jean-Paul Sartre rejected his Nobel Prize in literature in 1964, believing it was antithetical to his role as an artist.

Many of luxury holding company LVMH's acquisitions were due to chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault's search for undervalued companies.

The Judgment of Paris was organized by Steve Spurrier

The English wine merchant organized the competition with Patricia Gallagher at his Paris wine shop. In this in-depth interview, he talks about how he got into the wine trade, how the Judgment of Paris impacted his own career and the global wine scene, and tells some of his favorite stories from the past.

In 1976, segregation was outlawed in private schools

Over two decades after Brown v. Board of Education, Runyon v. McCrary banned the segregation academies, forcing them to admit non-white students or shut down.

David Ogilvy died at his chateau in France in 1999

Ogilvy purchased Chateau de Touffou in 1973 and would go on to host hundreds of Ogilvy & Mather staffers there over the years. Some say that Ogilvy was eager to take his agency public in part so he would have more money to purchase the chateau.

The largest university endowments in the US

This US News article ranks the 20 universities with the largest endowments in the United States, based on data from the 2022 fiscal year. Harvard tops the list at more than $50B, followed by Yale, Stanford, and Princeton. Check out this snapshot of how these financial resources support academic programs, research, and student aid.

What are college endowments? An expert explains

College endowments are meant to last forever. That's why some of the oldest, most prestigious schools in the US have lasted so long. A higher education finance expert weighs in on how these funds work and offers fascinating tidbits on how they impact university finances.

Paris and Boston were redesigned partly to combat cholera's spread

Georges-Eugène "Baron" Haussmann, who oversaw Paris's redesign in the 1800s, replaced many of the city's narrow streets with wide boulevards. This was done at least in part to bring more air and light into the city to help control cholera. Architect Arthur Gilman redeveloped Boston's Back Bay to similarly combat cholera, among other reasons.

King's books are now taught by college professors

Stephen King’s horror, fantasy, and science fiction were once considered lowbrow and unworthy of serious academic study. That's changed over the last 50 years, with King courses and symposiums taking place at universities around the world.

In 1910, riots swept Champagne over unfairness in the winemaking industry

The French are well known for protesting, and their winegrowers are no exception. After years of disastrous harvests caused by bad weather, disease, and deceptive practices by large Champagne houses, smaller vintners fought back.

Louisiana has parishes instead of counties

Louisiana is the only US state that uses parishes rather than counties as its primary local government unit. The distinction traces back to the state's French and Spanish Catholic colonial heritage.

France's first restaurant guide, 'Almanach des Gourmands,' helped spread the restaurant concept across Europe and the US.