François Jacquier
François Jacquier OFM (born June 7, 1711 in Vitry-le-François , † July 3, 1788 in Rome ) was a French mathematician, physicist and theologian.
Jacquier's scientific talent was recognized and encouraged early on by a clergyman who taught him. At the age of 16 he joined the Friars Minor ( Minorites , Franciscans ), who sent him to Rome for training, to the French convent of the order, La Trinité du Mont. There he studied mathematics and the classical languages Latin, Greek and Hebrew. He made such progress that he was patronized by the Cardinals Giulio Alberoni and Joaquín Fernández de Portocarrero Mendoza (1681-1760). He visited Ravenna with Alberoni and was commissioned to assess the construction work begun by Manfredi to prevent the area from being flooded. After returning to Rome, he became professor of the Scriptures at the College of Propaganda (the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples , Sacra Congregatio de Propaganda Fide). In addition, the General Assembly of the Order in Marseille commissioned him to work on the history of the Order.
In 1742 he was commissioned by Pope Benedict XIV with his professor colleague Thomas Le Seur (also a French minority) and the Jesuit Ruger Boskovic to prepare an expert opinion on the renovation of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica , which was published in 1743. Cracks had appeared on the dome and their report is widely believed to be the first static report in civil engineering history to be criticized by Giovanni Poleni . In 1744 he visited Voltaire and Émilie du Châtelet in Castle Cirey , where he encouraged Madame du Chatelet in her Newton studies (she created the French translation of Newton's major work). In 1745 he was appointed professor of physics at the University of Turin by the King of Sardinia, Viktor Amadeus II , but instead took the position of professor of experimental physics offered to him by Cardinal Silvio Valenti Gonzaga (1690–1756), the Pope's minister at the College of Propaganda. In 1763 he became the math and physics teacher of Prince Ferdinand of Parma . In 1773 he became a mathematics professor at his college after a Jesuit had to give way in the course of the official suppression of the order.
Jacquier was in contact with the most important European academies of his time. In 1749 he was accepted as a foreign member of the Royal Prussian Society of Sciences . From 1743 he was a corresponding member of the Académie royale des sciences in Paris. With his colleague Le Seur, he published an annotated edition of Isaac Newton's Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica in Geneva from 1739 to 1742 (on which other scientists also contributed) and wrote an analysis textbook.
Jacquier is also mentioned with praise in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's “ Italian Journey ” . On January 25, 1787, Goethe wrote about an encounter with Jacquier in Rome:
“A few days ago I visited Father Jacquier, a Franciscan, on Trinità de 'Monti. He is French by birth, known through his mathematical writings, high in years, very pleasant and understanding. In his day he knew the best men and even spent a few months with Voltaire, who was very affectionate to him. "
Books
- with Le Seur (authors and editors) "Isaaci Newtoni philosophiæ naturalis principia mathematica, perpetuis commentariis illustrata", 4 parts in 3 volumes, Geneva
- with Le Seur, Boskovic "Parere e riflessioni sopra I danni della cuppola di San-Pietro", Rome 1743 (the report on the dome of St. Peter's Basilica)
- "Elementi di perspecttiva secondo I principi di Taylor", 8 volumes, Rome 1745
- "Institutiones Philosophicæ ad studia theologica potissimum accommodata", 6 volumes, Rome 1757 (often reprinted in Rome, Venice and Germany, translated into Spanish)
- with Le Seur "Eléments du calcul intégral", Parma 1768
Web links
- Catholic encyclopedia from 1913
- Literature by and about François Jacquier in the WorldCat bibliographic database
Remarks
- ↑ Sometimes also written Jaquier
- ^ Straub “History of Civil Engineering”, Birkhäuser 1992
- ^ Karl-Eugen Kurrer : The History of the Theory of Structures. Searching for Equilibrium . Ernst & Sohn , Berlin 2018, p. 922, ISBN 978-3-433-03229-9 .
- ^ Members of the previous academies. P. François Jacquier. Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences , accessed April 9, 2015 .
- ^ List of members since 1666: Letter J. Académie des sciences, accessed on February 14, 2020 (French).
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Jacquier, François |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French mathematician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 7, 1711 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Vitry-le-François |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 3, 1788 |
| Place of death | Rome |