Gaspard Monge

Gaspard Monge, count de Péluse (May 10th 1746, Beaune - July 28th 1818, Paris) is a Mathématicien French with which considerable work mixes descriptive Géométrie, infinitesimal Analyze and analytical Geometry.

Born with Beaune (Burgundy), Gaspard Monge is wire of Jacques Monge, a merchant high-Savoyard Forain who became Bâtonnier of the Confrérie of the Mercier S of Beaune, and Jeanne Rousseaux. He is educated by the Oratoriens initially with the college of Beaune, then with the college of Lyon, where he teaches as of the sixteen years age physical sciences.

Simultaneously with its research tasks, he taught most of his life and had like pupils much large futures Mathématicien S French of the 19th century.

He played a great part in the French revolution, as well from the political point of view as from the point of view of the introduction of a new educational system : he took part in the creation of the National university and the Polytechnic school (in 1794), two schools where he taught the Géométrie.

He was also member of the Commission of sciences and arts at the time of the Campagne of Italy (1796-1797), and operations manager in the forwarding of Egypt (1798-1799).

In December 1989, its ashes were transferred to the the Pantheon. (according to an article of J.J. O' Connor and E.F. Robertson)

Biography

Formation

It studied there with the College of the Oratoriens of Beaune with his two brothers, where it accepted on behalf of the monks a liberal education, since in addition to the Humanités, it was informed in Histoire, Natural science and Mathématiques and showed the first signs of its excellence, thus the director qualified it " puer aureus" (the gold child). At the fourteen years age, it built a fire pump, of which the effects struck admiration. At the sixteen years age, it left to finish its studies with the College of the Trinity of Lyon, from where it returned two years later, not without to have given there, at seventeen years hardly, a course of physical sciences.

Returned in Beaune, Monge drew a plan of the city which was worth to him to be noticed by the lieutenant-colonel Of Vigneau of the royal École of the genius of Wall where it was soon engaged as draftsman in 1765. It became acquainted there with Charles Bossut, the mathematics professor of the School, with which it could discuss its ideas on the Géométrie. However it could not become officer of the genious since he was not noble family. One year after his arrival, one entrusted to him the execution of plans of fortifications. In 1766, Bossut chooses it like repeater of mathematics, charged to compensate its courses. Monge inserts the descriptive geometry in the teaching of the school.

The scientific explosion

In 1768, Bossut is elected with the Academy of Science and encourages it to publish its work in geometry, which is made in 1770.

The following year, it comes into contact with D' Alembert and especially Condorcet, which pushes it to present four memories, one each field of mathematics which it studied then: the calculation of the variations, infinitesimal geometry, the theory of the partial derivative equations and the combinative one.

In spring of 1774, Gaspard Monge meets a powerful guard, the marquis de Castries. It starts to tie a very long friendship with the son of the caretaker of this last, Jean-Nicolas Pache. He was in addition freemason.

During the following years, it still publishes many work, widening its sights with physics, chemistry and the metallurgy. In 1777, it marries Catherine Huart. Sharing its time between Paris, where it gives a course of hydrodynamics, and Wall, it is seen offering the station of Bézout as an inspector of the juniors by the School of the royal navy.

Monge and the Revolution: the organizer

The French revolution, which it supports as of 1789, completely changes the course of its life, whereas it is one of the most important Scientifique S of France.

Probably about June 1790, it entered a first moderated club, the patriotic Société of 1789, located at the Palais Royal.

He becomes member of the Club of the Jacobins, where one also finds Robespierre (to which he was close), Saint-Just,… He will be elected by it vice-president the day before 9-Thermidor (July 27th 1794)

He agreed to enter the patriotic Société of Luxembourg created by his friend Jean-Nicolas Pache, in the section of the Four-Nations, as one of the voters intended to name the 24 deputies of the Seine. The statutes, accepted in January 1792, specified that it acted to spread the knowledge of the duties and the role of the citizens in the Constitution. It was one of the clubs more the extremists of the revolutionary apron, according to François Perrault.

The evening of the August 10th, 1792, it is named with five other people (of which Danton) member of the provisional executive council. It occupies the post of minister of the Navy consequently and settles street Royale.

After the beginning of the activities of the Convention on September 22nd 1792, it preserves its post of minister of the Navy in the First Republic incipient.

It was one of the promoters of the revolutionary Calendrier, with Fabre d' Eglantine.

He resigns of his post of minister of the Marine on April 10th 1793, exceeded by the political quarrels, and turns over to the Academy of Science, but this one is dissolved by the Convention in August of the same year.

Convinced republican, supporting ardently the Revolution, it continues to work on military projects or on a reform of the education system:

  • On the report/ratio of Barère, by the decree of March 11th 1794 of the Convention, it is named member of the charged commission of the creation of a commission of public works, to which returns the direction of the Bridge-and-Roadways, the civil buildings, maritime work and military engineering. Lazare Carnot (known as the " large Carnot" , the organizer of the Victoire of Valmy) also takes part in it.

  • a first project is refused by the Comité of Public Hello, which entrusts a more ambitious file of creation of a central school of public works, which will become the Polytechnic school.

  • It helps Jacques-Elie Lamblardie, principal of the Bridge-and-Roadways and first director of the new school, for the organization and the installation of the school to the Hôtel of Lassay, beside the Palais Bourbon.

It is also teaching there, training the future professors and formalizing its work on the infinitesimal geometry. It gives also a course of descriptive geometry in another school, created to train the professors of secondary education: the National university.

Monge and Bonaparte: Italy (May 1796 - May 1798)

See Countryside of Italy.

Gaspard Monge left Paris on February 6th 1798 for Rome. Order was intimated to the pope Pie VI, in the name of the French Republic, to give up its temporal authority, and to be satisfied with its spiritual authority. As it was known that it was unrealizable, one substituted an order to him to leave under two days. Magpie VI left in the night from February 19th to 20th 1798.

After the exactions of the general Andre Masséna and its reference (March 2nd, 1798), Monge made the nominations with all the functions of the new “Roman Republic”, except finances.

Monge and Bonaparte: Egypt (May 1798 - October 1799)

See Countryside of Egypt.

Monge and Napoleon: the senator with life
End of the lifetime

With the Restoration, Gaspard Monge is isolated. A royal decree of April 13rd 1816 lays off the Polytechnic school. It is ressuscitée on January 17th 1817 under the name of Polytechnic Royal École.

Only some faithful continues to see Gaspard Monge. It is struck several attacks of Apoplexie and dies the July 28th 1818.

Its funerals took place in the church Saint-Thomas d' Aquin with Paris. August 2nd 1818, the pupils of the Polytechnic school ignored prohibitions and paid a last homage to the to him Cimetière of the Father-Lachaise.

Its grandson is the general Guillaume Stanislas Marey-Monge.

Work scientific

Gaspard Monge is the inventor of the descriptive Géométrie.

Gaspard Monge belonged to the French scientists who pushed with the introduction of a system of weights and measures based on the Decimal system.

The decimal notation had been introduced in Francie by Gerbert d' Aurillac, become pope towards the An millet under the name of Sylvestre II, but it had not spread yet with the weights and measures.

By the decree of May 8th 1790 obtained by Talleyrand, the Academy of Science accepted the mission of developing a system unification of the weights and measures. Gaspard Monge belonged to the Central Commission of the Weights and Mesures which was to implement this decision, with Condorcet, Laplace, Lagrange, and Borda.

After having received departments the standards of old measurements, the commission sought the suitable unit. In his report/ratio of March 19th 1791, the commission proposed to adopt the length of the quarter of the terrestrial Méridien for base of measurement, and its ten millionth part for usual unit. They are the theoretical bases of the Metric system, as well as international Système of units (IF) of the weights and measures such as there exists nowadays.

Gaspard Monge was also among the personalities which proposed to found a Calendrier with some ten days weeks. The republican Calendrier did not last beyond 1806, because of various difficulties.

Monge also gave its name to a class of generic problems of optimal transport of mass, known under the name of Problème of Monge- Kantorovich (or MKP, for Monge-Kantorovich Problem), this last having received the “Nobel Prize” of economy in 1975, and is known to have proven the existence of an optimal solution to this problem in 1942. Monge introduced this problem into its " Memory on the theory of spoil and the remblais" in 1781.

Bonds towards articles on Monge

  • Article on Monge and the creation of the Polytechnic school in 1794
  • a series of articles, of which several on Monge of Rene Taton, and Elie Cartan

See too

Homages

Its name is registered on the lathe Eiffel.

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