Urbain Jean Joseph the Glassmaker (Saint-Lo, March 11th 1811 - Paris, September 23rd 1877) was a astronomer and mathematician French specialized in Celestial mechanics.

Its studies

After eight years of studies to the college of its birthplace Saint-Lo, it enters to the Royal College of Caen where it will study the Mathématiques 1827 with 1830. It continues its studies with the Louis-the-Large Collège in Paris and is allowed in 1831 with the Polytechnic school of which it leaves two years afterwards as engineer the tobaccos. He will work initially at the laboratory of Chimie of Gay-Lussac.

He asked in 1837 the place of repeater of chemistry the Polytechnic school but this one will be taken to him by Henri Victor Regnault. One offered to him on the other hand a place of repeater of “Géodésie, Astronomie and machines” which it will accept and where it will specialize in celestial mechanics. In 1839, it presented to the Academy of Science its first report on the secular variations of the Orbite S of planets. It is besides in this memory that one finds the first description of the Algorithme of Faddeev-Leverrier.

Urbain the Glassmaker became member of the section of astronomy of the Academy of Science in January 1846.

The discovery of Neptune

Urbain the Glassmaker became famous for the discovery of the Planet Neptune, more precisely because of the method leading to this discovery, that of mathematical calculations only, which marks the triumph of the celestial mechanics. The planet Uranus discovered by William Herschel presented irregularities compared to its orbit envisaged. Those becoming too important at the end of a few years, the astronomers suspected the gravitational influence of a new planet. Highly encouraged by François Arago, the Glassmaker launches out in 1844 in the calculation of the characteristics of this new planet (mass, orbit, current location) using the Lois of Kepler, of which it will communicate the results with the Academy of Science the August 31st 1846. They will be confirmed (except for some errors) by the German astronomer Johann Galle which it September 23rd observed the new star, Neptune, the very same day where it accepted in mail his position by the Glassmaker. In front of the Academy of Science, Arago will pronounce celebrates it sentence: “Mr. Glassmaker saw the new star at the end of his feather”. He will enter there in 1846. The Royal Society decrees the Médaille Copley to him the same year with for praise “… one of the greatest triumphs of the modern analysis applied to the theory of the gravitation…” In 1846, is created for him a pulpit of celestial mechanics to the Faculty of Science of Paris, Pierre-Ossian Bonnet will succeed to him in 1878.

A discovery which will be the subject many polemics at the time, since these calculations were carried out at the same time by John Adams but without none them knowing work of the other. The characteristics of planet had been determined by Adams one year earlier but had not been published.

Later it tried to repeat the same exploit to explain the disturbances of Mercure. After several observations by other astronomers of round spots last in front of the Sun, the Glassmaker from of deduced the presence from another planet, Vulcan, of which he predicts the passage in front of the Sun in 1877. These predictions will appear inaccurate, and these anomalies will be explained one half-century later by Albert Einstein with the theory of the General relativity.

Astronomer, meteorologist and politician

In 1854, the Glassmaker is named director of the Observatoire of Paris, succeeding François Arago. It then undertakes there a total reorganization which it will not manage to carry out in the long term for lack of appropriations. It will make there establish a catalog of 306 fundamental stars.

However, it was shown there so odious that it was raised of its functions in 1870 per imperial decree, following the resignation of fourteen astronomers of the Observatory of Paris. He resigned at the same time of the general advice. He will take again his position of director of the Observatory with died of his successor, Charles-Eugene Delaunay, in 1873 until his death.

While becoming director of the Observatory of Paris, he also inherits a small weather service. Meteorology, still little developed, depended on the Observatory of Paris. The November 14th 1854, terrible a Storm, occurring without the slightest warning, crosses the Europe of west in is, causing the loss of 41 ships in the Black Sea. The Glassmaker then undertakes to set up a network of weather observatories on the French territory, intended above all for the sailors in order to prevent them arrival of the storms. This network gathers 24 stations including 13 connected by telegraph, then will extend to 59 observatories distributed on the unit from the Europe in 1865. It is the birth of the modern Météorologie.

With the head of a commission which bore its name, it reformed the teaching of the Polytechnic school by introducing more science applied.

In parallel, it carries out also a political life. Elected official Appointed of the Handle in 1849, it will become Senator and General inspector of higher education for sciences starting from January 1852. In 1852, it is elected general adviser of the canton of Saint-Malo-of-the-Moor. There will remain elected of this canton until 1870 and will chair the general advice of the English Channel of 1858 to 1870.

Although suffering of a painful and painful disease, it devotes the end of its life to the completion of its work on the movement of planets. He proposed to reduce the distance Ground - Sun and the Speed of light. The Royal Astronomical Society decreed the to him medal of honor in 1876 for its memories on the gas planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

Urbain the Glassmaker had two wire, Jean Charles Leon and Louis Paul Urbain, and a girl, Lucille the Glassmaker (wife of Lucien Magne), musician and raises composition of César Franck, whose diary was published.

Homages

• Its name is registered on the lathe Eiffel.
• the Astéroïde (1997) Leverrier was named in its honor like one of the colleges of its birthplace.

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