Gabriel-Philippe de La Hire (25 July 1677 – 4 June 1719) was a French scientist, son of the astronomer Philippe de la Hire, who also contributed to astronomy but made some contributions to medicine and other sciences as well.
La Hire (or Philipe II) was born to Philippe de La Hire (1640-1718) and Catherine Lesage in Paris. He learned astronomy from his father at the Paris observatory and assisted him in making observations. He became an associate of the Academy of Sciences in 1699. Along with his father the two were accused of plagiarism by Jean Le Fèvre around 1702. La Hire published several papers to the Academy of Sciences from 1703. His 1699 study of the growth of human teeth under a microscope indicate that he observed the so-called
Hunter-Schreger bands Hunter-Schreger bands, commonly abbreviated as HSB, are features of the enamel of the teeth in mammals, mostly placentals.Line and Bergqvist, 2005, p. 924 In HSB, enamel prisms are arranged in layers of varying thickness at about right angles ...
. In 1706 he was admitted member to the Royal Academy of Architecture and contributed a few works on the subject such as ''L’art de charpenterie'' (1702), on the use of timber in construction. In 1718 he worked with
Jacques Cassini
Jacques Cassini (18 February 1677 – 16 April 1756) was a French astronomer, son of the famous Italian astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini.
Cassini was born at the Paris Observatory. Admitted at the age of seventeen to membership of the French ...
to establish the longitude of
Amiens
Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...
and
Dunkirk
Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.1677 births1719 deaths