Nicole-Reine Lepaute (nonfiction): Difference between revisions

From Gnomon Chronicles
Jump to navigation Jump to search
No edit summary
No edit summary
Line 1: Line 1:
[[File:Nicole-Reine_Lepaute.jpg|thumb|Nicole-Reine Lepaute.]]'''Nicole-Reine Lepaute''' (née Étable; also known as Hartense Lepaute or Hortense Lepaute), (5 January 1723 – 6 December 1788) was a French astronomer and mathematician.  
[[File:Nicole-Reine_Lepaute.jpg|thumb|Nicole-Reine Lepaute.]]'''Nicole-Reine Lepaute''' (née Étable; also known as Hartense Lepaute or Hortense Lepaute), (5 January 1723 – 6 December 1788) was a French astronomer and mathematician.  


Jean-André Lepaute (23 November 1720 – 11 April 1789), together with his younger brother Jean-Baptiste Lepaute (6 February 1727 – 18 March 1802), was a founder of an outstanding French clockmaker dynasty of their day, holding the brevet ''horlogers du Roi''. His brother assumed his workshop in 1774, when Jean-André retired; he died after a long illness at Paris.
Nicole-Reine Lepaute was born in the Luxembourg Palace in Paris as the daughter of Jean Etable, valet in the service of Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans. In 1749, she married [[Jean-André Lepaute (nonfiction)|Jean-André Lepaute]], who was a royal clockmaker. Nicole Lepaute constructed a clock with an astronomical function together with her spouse. The clock was constructed on her suggestion, and she also participated in its construction. The clock was presented to the French Academy of Science in 1753, where it was inspected and approved by astronomer [[Jérôme Lalande (nonfiction)|Jérôme Lalande]].
Lepaute was a member of the French Academy of Science.


Born at Thonne-la-Long in Lorraine, Lepaute arrived in Paris as a young man. His brother joined him in 1747. Before he was received maître by the clockmakers' guild in 1759, he had made such a reputation with several public clocks, notably at the palais du Luxembourg, the château de Bellevue and the château des Ternes that he was given lodgings in the Luxembourg. His clock at the École Militaire, Paris, still runs.
Jérôme Lalande recommended her along with the mathematician [[Alexis Clairault (nonfiction)|Alexis Clairault]] to calculate the predicted return of Halley's Comet, as well as to calculate the attraction of Jupiter and Saturn of the Halley's comet. In November 1758, the team presented their conclusion that the comet would arrive on 13 April 1759. They were almost correct, as the comet arrived on 13 March 1759. Clairault did not recognize her work at all in his work, which upset Lalande. Lalande acknowledged her help in an article.


Lepaute was an innovator, to whom numerous improvements are due, especially his pin-wheel escapement. He constructed refinements to the clockwork in which the gears are all in the horizontal plane, making possible the revolving dials of clocks in urns or in globes characteristic of the classicizing Louis XVI style.
In 1759, she was again a part of [[Jérôme Lalande (nonfiction)|Lalande]]'s team and worked with him to calculate the ephemeris of the transit of Venus. It is not documented what should be attributed to her personally, but in 1761, she was acknowledged by being inducted as an honorary member of the distinguished Scientific Academy of Béziers. Lalande also collaborated with Lepaute for fifteen years on the Academy of Science's annual guides for astronomers and navigators, and after her death, wrote a brief biography about her contributions to astronomy.


Three editions of his ''Traité d'Horlogerie'' were published in Paris, in 1755, 1760 and 1767. A small volume, ''Description de plusieurs ouvrages d'horlogerie'' ("A Description of several works of clockmaking") appeared in 1764.
In 1762, Lepaute calculated the exact time of a solar eclipse that occurred on 1 April 1764. She wrote an article in which she gave a map of the eclipse's extent in 15-minute intervals across Europe. The article was published in ''Connaissance des temps'' (Knowledge of the times).


His wife, whom he married in 1748, was the astronomer [[Nicole-Reine Lepaute (nonfiction)|Nicole-Reine Lepaute]], who nursed him in his long last illness.
She also created a group of catalogs of the stars which were useful for the future of astronomy. She calculated the ephemeris of the Sun, the Moon and the planets for the years 1774–1784.


His nephew was the clockmaker, mathematician and astronomer [[Joseph Lepaute Dagelet (nonfiction)|Joseph Lepaute Dagelet]] who accompanied Lapérouse on his fateful scientific navigation.
She adopted her husband's nephew, [[Joseph Lepaute Dagelet (nonfiction)|Joseph Lepaute Dagelet]], a future member of the French Academy of Science, in 1768.
 
Nicole Lepaute took care of her terminally ill husband from 1767 until her death in 1788.


== In the News ==
== In the News ==
Line 24: Line 28:
== Nonfiction cross-reference ==
== Nonfiction cross-reference ==


* [[Jérôme Lalande (nonfiction)]]
* [[Mathematician (nonfiction)]]
* [[Mathematician (nonfiction)]]


Revision as of 09:29, 16 November 2017

Nicole-Reine Lepaute.

Nicole-Reine Lepaute (née Étable; also known as Hartense Lepaute or Hortense Lepaute), (5 January 1723 – 6 December 1788) was a French astronomer and mathematician.

Nicole-Reine Lepaute was born in the Luxembourg Palace in Paris as the daughter of Jean Etable, valet in the service of Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans. In 1749, she married Jean-André Lepaute, who was a royal clockmaker. Nicole Lepaute constructed a clock with an astronomical function together with her spouse. The clock was constructed on her suggestion, and she also participated in its construction. The clock was presented to the French Academy of Science in 1753, where it was inspected and approved by astronomer Jérôme Lalande.

Lepaute was a member of the French Academy of Science.

Jérôme Lalande recommended her along with the mathematician Alexis Clairault to calculate the predicted return of Halley's Comet, as well as to calculate the attraction of Jupiter and Saturn of the Halley's comet. In November 1758, the team presented their conclusion that the comet would arrive on 13 April 1759. They were almost correct, as the comet arrived on 13 March 1759. Clairault did not recognize her work at all in his work, which upset Lalande. Lalande acknowledged her help in an article.

In 1759, she was again a part of Lalande's team and worked with him to calculate the ephemeris of the transit of Venus. It is not documented what should be attributed to her personally, but in 1761, she was acknowledged by being inducted as an honorary member of the distinguished Scientific Academy of Béziers. Lalande also collaborated with Lepaute for fifteen years on the Academy of Science's annual guides for astronomers and navigators, and after her death, wrote a brief biography about her contributions to astronomy.

In 1762, Lepaute calculated the exact time of a solar eclipse that occurred on 1 April 1764. She wrote an article in which she gave a map of the eclipse's extent in 15-minute intervals across Europe. The article was published in Connaissance des temps (Knowledge of the times).

She also created a group of catalogs of the stars which were useful for the future of astronomy. She calculated the ephemeris of the Sun, the Moon and the planets for the years 1774–1784.

She adopted her husband's nephew, Joseph Lepaute Dagelet, a future member of the French Academy of Science, in 1768.

Nicole Lepaute took care of her terminally ill husband from 1767 until her death in 1788.

In the News

Fiction cross-reference

Nonfiction cross-reference

External links:

Retrieved from "https://gnomonchronicles.com/w/index.php?title=Nicole-Reine_Lepaute_(nonfiction)&oldid=25408"