Jean-Jacques Dortous de Mairan

Jean-Jacques Dortous de Mairan , born with Béziers the November 26th 1678 and died in Paris the February 20th 1771, is a Mathématicien, Astronome and Geophysicist French.

Biography

Orphan of father at the four years age and orphan of mother at the sixteen years age, it makes studies of Greek to the university of Toulouse before going to study the Mathématiques and the Physique with Paris in 1698. He founds with Jean Bouillet the Académie of Béziers.

In 1718, it is elected member of Royal Académie of Sciences, of which he becomes perpetual secretary in 1740, then sub-manager and director until in 1760. He is director of the Journal of the sçavans and belongs to almost all the learned societies of Europe. He is prize winner of the Academy of Science of Bordeaux. He is elected member of the French Academy on February 16th 1743 and of the Académie of Rouen on February 1st 1758. He is the friend of the philosophical and attends the living rooms Claudine de Tencin and of Anne-Thérèse of Lambert.

Its scientific work

In 1729, it carries out an experiment showing the existence of the circadian Rythme at the plants, probably coming from an endogenous clock.

In 1731, it observes a nebulosity, named later M43, around a star close to the Nébuleuse of Orion.

It is charged with Pierre Varignon to propose a process for the gauging of the vessels which prevents the frauds and the complaints.

A crater on the the Moon was named after him. Its name was also used as acronym with a computing project of the Regional management of Industry, Research and Environment for the management of the self-monitoring, the principle being that the industrialists transmitted their data by Minitel.

Principal publications

Essay on the variations of the barometer (1715)
Essay on the cause of the light of phosphorus and noctiluques the (1717)
Essay on the ice, or physical Explanation of the formation of the ice and its various phenomena (1717)
shortened Instruction and method for the gauging of the ships, with an illustrated example and remarks for the practice (1726)
Treated physical and history of northern light (1733) Text in line Illustrations in line
Essay to the estimate and the measure of the driving forces of the bodies (1741)
New research on the general cause of the heat in summer and the cold in winter, as it binds to the internal and permanent heat of the ground (1767)

; Correspondence

Lettre of Mr. de Mairan with Madam the Marchioness of Chastellet on the question of the lifeblood, in answer to the objections that it makes him on this subject in her Institutions of physics (1741) Text in line
Lettres of Mr. de Mairan to the R.P. Parrentin, missionary of the Society of Jesus to Beijing, container various questions about China (1759)
Méditations metaphysics and correspondence of NR. Malebranche with J. - J. Dortous de Mairan on subjects of metaphysics (1847). Republication: Nicolas Malebranche: Correspondence with J. - J. Dortous de Mairan , Vrin, Paris, 1947.

External bonds

Biographical note of the French Academy
Biographical note of Galileo Project

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