Charles Bossut (11 August 1730 – 14 January 1814) was a French mathematician and confrère of the Encyclopaedists.
Early life and education
Bossut was born in 1730 in Tartaras, Loire to Barthélemy Bossut and Jeanne Thonnerine.[1] He lost his father early in life and was raised by his uncle.[1] He received his education at the Jesuit College of Lyon from age fourteen, under the influence of Père Béraud, who also mentored mathematicians such as Montucla and Jérôme Lalande.[1]
Career
After completing his studies, Bossut followed a path in the Church, becoming known as Abbé Charles Bossut.[1] He delved into mathematical research, collaborating with contemporaries such as Jean le Rond d'Alembert, Alexis Clairaut, and Charles Étienne Louis Camus.[1] In 1753, he became a correspondant at the French Academy of Sciences.[1]
In the 1760s, Bossut authored textbooks, notably Traité élémentaire de mécanique (1763) and Cours complet de mathématiques (1765).[1] He also served as an examiner at Mézières and later at the École Polytechnique.[1]
In 1774, Bossut was appointed to a newly established chair of hydrodynamics at the Louvre, a position he held until 1780.[1] During this time, he conducted fluid resistance experiments and edited an edition of Pascal's works.[1]
Bossut's later works include contributing to Diderot's Encyclopédie méthodique and publishing Mécanique en général (1792) and Essai sur l'histoire générale des mathématiques (1802).[1] In his later years, Bossut became reclusive and remained unmarried.[1] Nonetheless, he received accolades from several scientific academies, including those in Lyon, Toulouse, St Petersburg, Turin, and Bologna, for his contributions to mathematics.[1]
Works
Traité élémentaire d'hydrodynamique (1771) later reworked as Traité théorique et expérimental d'hydrodynamique (1786–87)
