Victor Michael Jean-Marie Thébault (1882–1960) 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 ...
best known for propounding three problems in
geometry
Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is c ...
. The name
Thébault's theorem
Thébault's theorem is the name given variously to one of the geometry problems proposed by the French mathematician Victor Thébault, individually known as Thébault's problem I, II, and III.
Thébault's problem I
Given any parallelogram, co ...
is used by some authors to refer to the first of these problems and by others to refer to the third.
Thébault was born on March 6, 1882, in Ambrières-les-Grand (today a part of
Ambrières-les-Vallées
Ambrières-les-Vallées () is a commune in the Mayenne department in northwestern France. It is on the border of Normandy.
Population
Notable people
* Louis Tanquerel des Planches (1810–1862), physician and researcher
See also
*Communes ...
,
Mayenne
Mayenne () is a landlocked department in northwest France named after the river Mayenne. Mayenne is part of the administrative region of Pays de la Loire and is surrounded by the departments of Manche, Orne, Sarthe, Maine-et-Loire, and Ille-et ...
) in the northwest of France. He got his education at a teacher's college in
Laval
Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of:
People
* House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne
* Laval (surname)
Places Belgium
* Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxem ...
, where he studied from 1898 to 1901. After his graduation he taught for three years at
Pré-en-Pail
Pré-en-Pail () is a former commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Pré-en-Pail-Saint-Samson.Ernée. In 1909 he placed first in a competitive exams, which yielded him a certificate to work as a science professor at teachers' colleges. Thébault however found a professor's salary insufficient to support his large family and hence he left teaching to become a factory superintendent at Ernée from 1910 to 1923. In 1924 he became a chief insurance inspector in
Le Mans
Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...
, a position he held until his retirement in 1940. During his retirement he lived in
Tennie
Tennie () is a commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays de la Loire in north-western France.
Geography
The village lies in the middle of the commune, on the left bank of the Vègre, which flows southwestward through the commune.
...
. He died on March 19, 1960, shortly after a severe stroke and was survived by his wife, five sons and a daughter.
Despite leaving teaching Thébault stayed active in mathematics with number theory and geometry being his main areas of interest. He published a large number of articles in math journals all over the world and aside from regular articles he also contributed many original problems and solutions to their problem sections. He published over 1000 original problems in various mathematical magazines and his contributions to the problem section of the
American Mathematical Monthly
''The American Mathematical Monthly'' is a mathematical journal founded by Benjamin Finkel in 1894. It is published ten times each year by Taylor & Francis for the Mathematical Association of America.
The ''American Mathematical Monthly'' is an e ...
alone comprise over 600 problems and solutions. In recognition of his contributions the French government bestowed two titles on him. In 1932 he became an ''Officier de L'Instruction Publique'' and in a 1935 a ''Chevalier de l'Order de Couronne de Belgium''.