Bernard de Bélidor

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Bernard Forest de Bélidor

Bernard Forest de Bélidor (* 1697 (or 1698) in Catalonia , † September 8, 1761 in Paris ) was a French military engineer and architect . He is considered to be the founder of mine warfare .

Live and act

Belidor was born the son of a French officer . He first studied mathematics and physics and then became a professor at the newly established artillery school at La Fère . In 1729 he published his book "La science des ingénieurs", which was reprinted again and again until the first third of the 19th century and was considered a standard work of engineering .

In 1742 he took part in the campaign in Bavaria as adjutant Philippe-Henri de Ségurs and the Duke of Harcourt . With the Prince of Conti he went to Italy in 1744 and then to the Netherlands in 1745. Here he contributed significantly to the conquest of Charleroi . In recognition of his achievements, he was promoted to colonel .

His work "Architecture hydraulique", published in 4 volumes in the years 1737–1753, was the first compendium of knowledge about hydraulics . In it he described for the first time the production and use of concrete for foundation work under water. He also invented a free-jet water turbine ( impulse turbine ) in 1737 .

From 1758 he was director of the Paris arsenal. Soon after, he was made a brigadier and inspector general of miners. He was a member of the Académie des Sciences , the Royal Society and the Prussian Academy of Sciences .

Bernard Forest de Bélidor died in Paris on September 8, 1761.

Bélidor's importance lies primarily in his work as an early pioneer of engineering on a scientific basis. He was in close contact with the circles of the Académie des sciences and therefore had access to the latest mathematical knowledge; Through his books and teaching at La Fère , he contributed significantly to the spread of this knowledge. Bélidor dealt with issues of ballistics , the stability of retaining walls and the statics of vaults. In the first volume of "Architecture hydraulique", Bélidor applied integral calculus to a technical problem for the first time .

His works were also translated into German at an early stage, where they had a stimulating effect on the emerging engineering science . The "Architecture hydraulique" remained the standard work for French and British civil engineers until the beginning of the 19th century. His "La science des ingénieurs" from 1729 was very popular and collected the knowledge of his time in a similar way to later manuals for civil engineers; it was reissued by 1830. There is also an earth pressure theory on retaining walls.

Works

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Members of the previous academies. Bernard Forest de Bélidor. Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities , accessed on February 20, 2015 .
  2. ↑ Alec Skempton : Landmarks of early soil mechanics , 1981, reprinted in his Selected Papers
  3. ↑ Hans Straub : History of Civil Engineering , Birkhäuser 1992, p. 167
personal data
SURNAME Bélidor, Bernard de
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bélidor, Bernard Forest de (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French military engineer and architect
DATE OF BIRTH 1697 or 1698
PLACE OF BIRTH Catalonia
DATE OF DEATH September 8, 1761
Place of death Paris