Alexis Clairaut

Alexis Claude Clairaut
Alexis Claude Clairaut
Born(1713-05-13)13 May 1713[1]
Paris, France
Died17 May 1765(1765-05-17) (aged 52)
Paris, France
NationalityFrench
Known forClairaut's theorem
Clairaut's theorem on equality of mixed partials
Clairaut's equation
Clairaut's relation
Apsidal precession
Scientific career
FieldsMathematics

Alexis Claude Clairaut (French: [alɛksi klod klɛʁo]; 13 May 1713 – 17 May 1765) was a French mathematician, astronomer, and geophysicist. He was a prominent Newtonian whose work helped to establish the validity of the principles and results that Sir Isaac Newton had outlined in the Principia of 1687. Clairaut was one of the key figures in the expedition to Lapland that helped to confirm Newton's theory for the figure of the Earth. In that context, Clairaut worked out a mathematical result now known as "Clairaut's theorem". He also tackled the gravitational three-body problem, being the first to obtain a satisfactory result for the apsidal precession of the Moon's orbit. In mathematics he is also credited with Clairaut's equation and Clairaut's relation.

  1. ^ Other dates have been proposed, such as 7 May, which Judson Knight and the Royal Society report. Here is a discussion and argument for 13 May. Courcelle, Olivier (17 March 2007). "13 mai 1713(1): Naissance de Clairaut". Chronologie de la vie de Clairaut (1713-1765) (in French). Retrieved 26 April 2018.