Gaspard Monge
At a glance:
- Series: Dictionary of World Biography: The 17th and 18th Centuries
- Categories: Education, Science
- Subcategories: Mathematics, Mathematicians, Scientists, Physics, Physicists, French Revolution, Reign of Terror
- Curriculum: 19th Century European History, 18th Century European History, French History
Article abstract: Monge founded modern descriptive geometry (essential to mechanical and architectural drawing) and revitalized analytic geometry (essential to many fields of physics and mathematics). An enthusiastic supporter of the French Revolution, he helped establish the metric system and the École Polytechnique, an important engineering school.
Early Life
Gaspard Monge was born on May 10, 1746, in Beaune, a small town 166 miles southeast of Paris. He was the eldest son of Jacques Monge, an itinerant peddler and knife-grinder, and Jeanne Rousseaux,...
[The entire page is 3375 words long]
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