Antoine Deparcieux (28 October 17032 September 1768) was a French
mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems.
Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change.
History
On ...
Gard
Gard () is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019;Saint Florent for 10 years while working on his family farm. In 1725, his desire for learning took him to
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
to increase his knowledge of
mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
and
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
. He made a living by manufacturing
sundial
A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a flat ...
s.
In 1746, he became a member of the
Academy of Sciences
An academy of sciences is a type of learned society or academy (as special scientific institution) dedicated to sciences that may or may not be state funded. Some state funded academies are tuned into national or royal (in case of the Unite ...
, and in about 1765 was named ''Censeur Royal''. He was also librarian at the
University of Strasbourg
The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers.
The French university traces its history to the ea ...
, and member of the Academy of Sciences of Paris, Montpellier, Lyon, Amiens, Metz, Berlin, and Stockholm.
Accomplishments
Among his constructions were:
* A machine to raise water at Crécy castle
* A pump for castle of
Arnouville
Arnouville () is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France.
Previously known as Arnouville-lès-Gonesse, the name was officially renamed to Arnouville on 11 July 2010.
Population
Education
Public primary sch ...
* A press for the production of tobacco
He also published many works, including:
* ''Traité de trigonométrie rectiligne et sphérique'' (1738), approved by the Academy of Sciences
* ''Nouveau traité de trigonométrie, (avec table des sinus et logarithmes)'' (1740)
* ''Traité complet de Gnomonique'' (1741)
* ''Essai sur les probabilités de la durée de la vie humaine'' (1746) ("Essay on the probabilities of the human lifespan"), which is the work for which he is best known
* ''Mémoire sur la courbure des ondes'' (1747)
In 1758, Deparcieux was elected a foreign member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...
.
See also
*
Life annuity
A life annuity is an annuity, or series of payments at fixed intervals, paid while the purchaser (or annuitant) is alive. The majority of life annuities are insurance products sold or issued by life insurance companies however substantial case l ...