Lalande was born at Bourg-en-Bresse (now in the département of Ain) to Pierre Lefrançois and Marie‐Anne‐Gabrielle Monchinet.[1] His parents sent him to Paris to study law, but as a result of lodging in the Hôtel Cluny, where Delisle had his observatory, he was drawn to astronomy, and became the zealous and favoured pupil of both Delisle and Pierre Charles Le Monnier. Having completed his legal studies, he was about to return to Bourg to practise as an advocate, when Lemonnier obtained permission to send him to Berlin, to make observations on the lunar parallax in concert with those of Lacaille at the Cape of Good Hope.[2]
Quarter of a circle by Jonathan Sisson used by Jérôme de Lalande to measure the distance between the earth and the moon in 1751.
The successful execution of this task obtained for him, before he was twenty-one, admission to the Academy of Berlin, as well as his election as an adjunct astronomer to the French Academy of Sciences. He now devoted himself to the improvement of the planetary theory, publishing in 1759 corrected edition of Edmond Halley's tables, with a history of Halley's Comet whose return in that year he had helped Alexis Clairaut and Nicole-Reine Lepaute to calculate.[3] In 1762 Delisle resigned the chair of astronomy in the Collège de France in Lalande's favour. The duties were discharged by Lalande for forty-six years. His house became an astronomical seminary, and amongst his pupils were Delambre, Giuseppe Piazzi, Pierre Méchain, and his own nephew Michel Lalande. By his publications in connection with the transit of Venus of 1769 he won great fame. However, his difficult personality lost him some popularity.[2]
In 1766, Lalande, with Helvetius, founded the "Les Sciences" lodge in Paris, and received its recognition from Grand Orient de France in 1772.[4] In 1776, he changed its name to Les Neuf Soeurs, and arranged for Benjamin Franklin to be chosen as the first worshipful master.[5]
Although his investigations were conducted with diligence rather than genius, Lalande's career was an eminent one. As a lecturer and writer he helped popularise astronomy. His planetary tables, into which he introduced corrections for mutual perturbations, were the best available up to the end of the 18th century. In 1801, he endowed the Lalande Prize, administered by the French Academy of Sciences, for advances in astronomy. Pierre-Antoine Véron, the young astronomer who for the first time in history determined the size of the Pacific Ocean from east to west, was Lalande's disciple.[6]
Lalande was an atheist,[7] and wrote a dictionary of atheists with supplements that appeared in print posthumously.
He never married. He was believed to have an illegitimate daughter Marie-Jeanne de Lalande whom he trained in mathematics so that she could help him with his work;[8] according to the current state of research she was not his daughter.[9]
In February 1847 Sears C. Walker of the US Naval Observatory was searching historical records and surveys for possible prediscovery sightings of the planet Neptune that had been discovered the year before. He found that observations made by Lalande's staff in 1795 were in the direction of Neptune's position in the sky at that time and that Neptune might appear in the observation records. On 8 May and again on 10 May 1795 a star was observed and recorded with uncertainty noted on its position with a colon, this notation could also indicate an observing error so it was not until the original records of the observatory were reviewed that it was established with certainty that the object was Neptune and the position error between the two nights was due to the planet's motion across the sky.[10] The discovery of these records of Neptune's position in 1795 led to a better calculation of the planet's orbit.[11]
The crater Lalande on the Moon is named after him.
A high school in Bourg-en-Bresse is named after Lalande. This high school was awarded the Médaille de la Résistance in recognition of the wartime conduct of its teachers and pupils, a unique case among all schools in France.
Notable works
Voyage d'un françois en Italie, fait dans les années 1765 et 1766. Tome premier, 1769
Bibliographie astronomique (1803), with a history of astronomy from 1780 to 1802
Astronomie des dames (1785)
Abrégé de navigation (1793)
Voyage d'un françois en Italie (1769), a valuable record of his travel in 1765–1766.
Journal d'un voyage en Angleterre (1763) Diary of a Trip to England (English translation 2002, 2014 including two biographies of Lalande and an examination of the structure of the diary)
He communicated more than one hundred and fifty papers to the French Academy of Sciences, edited the Connoissance de temps (1759–1774), and again (1794–1807), and wrote the concluding two volumes of the 2nd edition of Montucla's Histoire des mathématiques (1802).[2]
Publications
Astronomie (in French). Vol. 1. Paris: veuve Nicolas Desaint. 1771.
Astronomie (in French). Vol. 2. Paris: veuve Nicolas Desaint. 1771.
Astronomie (in French). Vol. 3. Paris: veuve Nicolas Desaint. 1771.
Chapin, Seymour (1990). "The Men from Across La Manche: French Voyages, 1660–1790". In Howse, Derek (ed.). Background To Discovery: Pacific Exploration from Dampier To Cook. University of California Press.
Curtis-Wendlandt, Lisa; Gibbard, Paul; Green, Karen (2016). Political Ideas of Enlightenment Women: Virtue and Citizenship. Routledge. p. 85. ISBN978-1-317-07876-0.
"USNO – Our Command History". US Navy. Retrieved 11 September 2009.
Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Lalande, Joseph Jérôme Lefrançais de". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 95.
Further reading
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jérôme Lalande.
Wikisource has original works by or about: Jérôme Lalande
Mémoires de l'Institut, VIII (1807) (JBJ Delambre)
J-B Delambre: Histoire de l'astronomie au XVIIIe siècle, p. 547
Magazin encyclopédique, II, 288 (1810) (Mme de Salm);
JS Bailly, Histoire de l'astronomie moderne, t. III, (ed. 1785)
Alphonse Rebière, Mathématiques et mathématiciens, second edition, Paris, 1893, p. 283.
External links
Tome premier de Traité d'astronomie, de 1764
Abrégé de navigation (pdf)
Portrait of Jerome Lalande from the Lick Observatory Records Digital Archive, UC Santa Cruz Library's Digital Collections
Joseph Jérôme Le Français de Lalande letters to Mme. Dupiery, MSS 530 at L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University
Letters from baron de Franz Xaver von Zach to Joseph Jérôme Lefrançois de Lalande (1792-1806) at the digital library, Paris Observatory
May 04, 2023
jérôme, lalande, joseph, jérôme, lefrançois, lalande, french, lalɑ, july, 1732, april, 1807, french, astronomer, freemason, writer, jérôme, lande, jean, honoré, fragonard, 1769born, 1732, july, 1732bourg, bressedied4, april, 1807, 1807, aged, parisnationalityf. Joseph Jerome Lefrancois de Lalande French lalɑ d 11 July 1732 4 April 1807 was a French astronomer freemason and writer Jerome LalandeJerome de La Lande by Jean Honore Fragonard c 1769Born 1732 07 11 11 July 1732Bourg en BresseDied4 April 1807 1807 04 04 aged 74 ParisNationalityFrenchChildren1Scientific careerFieldsAstronomyInstitutionsParis observatoryDoctoral advisorJoseph Nicolas DelislePierre Charles Le MonnierDoctoral studentsJean Baptiste Joseph Delambre Contents 1 Biography 2 Near discovery of Neptune 3 Awards and recognition 4 Notable works 4 1 Publications 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External linksBiography EditLalande was born at Bourg en Bresse now in the departement of Ain to Pierre Lefrancois and Marie Anne Gabrielle Monchinet 1 His parents sent him to Paris to study law but as a result of lodging in the Hotel Cluny where Delisle had his observatory he was drawn to astronomy and became the zealous and favoured pupil of both Delisle and Pierre Charles Le Monnier Having completed his legal studies he was about to return to Bourg to practise as an advocate when Lemonnier obtained permission to send him to Berlin to make observations on the lunar parallax in concert with those of Lacaille at the Cape of Good Hope 2 Quarter of a circle by Jonathan Sisson used by Jerome de Lalande to measure the distance between the earth and the moon in 1751 The successful execution of this task obtained for him before he was twenty one admission to the Academy of Berlin as well as his election as an adjunct astronomer to the French Academy of Sciences He now devoted himself to the improvement of the planetary theory publishing in 1759 corrected edition of Edmond Halley s tables with a history of Halley s Comet whose return in that year he had helped Alexis Clairaut and Nicole Reine Lepaute to calculate 3 In 1762 Delisle resigned the chair of astronomy in the College de France in Lalande s favour The duties were discharged by Lalande for forty six years His house became an astronomical seminary and amongst his pupils were Delambre Giuseppe Piazzi Pierre Mechain and his own nephew Michel Lalande By his publications in connection with the transit of Venus of 1769 he won great fame However his difficult personality lost him some popularity 2 In 1766 Lalande with Helvetius founded the Les Sciences lodge in Paris and received its recognition from Grand Orient de France in 1772 4 In 1776 he changed its name to Les Neuf Soeurs and arranged for Benjamin Franklin to be chosen as the first worshipful master 5 Although his investigations were conducted with diligence rather than genius Lalande s career was an eminent one As a lecturer and writer he helped popularise astronomy His planetary tables into which he introduced corrections for mutual perturbations were the best available up to the end of the 18th century In 1801 he endowed the Lalande Prize administered by the French Academy of Sciences for advances in astronomy Pierre Antoine Veron the young astronomer who for the first time in history determined the size of the Pacific Ocean from east to west was Lalande s disciple 6 Lalande was an atheist 7 and wrote a dictionary of atheists with supplements that appeared in print posthumously He never married He was believed to have an illegitimate daughter Marie Jeanne de Lalande whom he trained in mathematics so that she could help him with his work 8 according to the current state of research she was not his daughter 9 Near discovery of Neptune EditMain article Discovery of Neptune In February 1847 Sears C Walker of the US Naval Observatory was searching historical records and surveys for possible prediscovery sightings of the planet Neptune that had been discovered the year before He found that observations made by Lalande s staff in 1795 were in the direction of Neptune s position in the sky at that time and that Neptune might appear in the observation records On 8 May and again on 10 May 1795 a star was observed and recorded with uncertainty noted on its position with a colon this notation could also indicate an observing error so it was not until the original records of the observatory were reviewed that it was established with certainty that the object was Neptune and the position error between the two nights was due to the planet s motion across the sky 10 The discovery of these records of Neptune s position in 1795 led to a better calculation of the planet s orbit 11 Awards and recognition Edit Tomb at cimetiere du Pere Lachaise In 1765 Lalande was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences In 1781 he was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 12 His name is one of the 72 names inscribed on the Eiffel Tower The crater Lalande on the Moon is named after him A high school in Bourg en Bresse is named after Lalande This high school was awarded the Medaille de la Resistance in recognition of the wartime conduct of its teachers and pupils a unique case among all schools in France Notable works Edit Voyage d un francois en Italie fait dans les annees 1765 et 1766 Tome premier 1769 His published include 2 Traite d astronomie 1st Ed 2 vols 1764 2nd Ed 4 vols 1771 1781 3rd Ed 3 vols 1792 Histoire celeste francaise 1801 giving the places of 47 390 stars Bibliographie astronomique 1803 with a history of astronomy from 1780 to 1802 Astronomie des dames 1785 Abrege de navigation 1793 Voyage d un francois en Italie 1769 a valuable record of his travel in 1765 1766 Journal d un voyage en Angleterre 1763 Diary of a Trip to England English translation 2002 2014 including two biographies of Lalande and an examination of the structure of the diary He communicated more than one hundred and fifty papers to the French Academy of Sciences edited the Connoissance de temps 1759 1774 and again 1794 1807 and wrote the concluding two volumes of the 2nd edition of Montucla s Histoire des mathematiques 1802 2 Publications Edit Astronomie in French Vol 1 Paris veuve Nicolas Desaint 1771 Astronomie in French Vol 2 Paris veuve Nicolas Desaint 1771 Astronomie in French Vol 3 Paris veuve Nicolas Desaint 1771 See also EditLalande 21185 Les Neuf Sœurs Felis constellation Quadrans Muralis Atlas Coelestis Officina TypographicaNotes Edit Hockey 2009 p page needed a b c d Chisholm 1911 p 95 Grier David Alan 2005 The First Anticipated Return Halley s Comet 1758 When Computers Were Human Princeton Princeton University Press pp 11 25 ISBN 0 691 09157 9 Dictionnaire universel de la Franc maconnerie p 501 Larousse ed 2011 Une loge maconnique d avant 1789 la R L Les neuf sœurs Louis Amiable ed Bailliere 1897 Chapin 1990 p 107 Curtis Wendlandt Gibbard amp Green 2016 p 85 Robertson E F O Connor J J Joseph Jerome Lefrancais de Lalande MacTutor History of Mathematics archive Retrieved 21 January 2019 Amelie Harlay Biography Maths History Retrieved 20 April 2023 Price 2000 p 352 USNO Book of Members 1780 2010 Chapter B PDF American Academy of Arts and Sciences Retrieved 28 July 2014 References EditChapin Seymour 1990 The Men from Across La Manche French Voyages 1660 1790 In Howse Derek ed Background To Discovery Pacific Exploration from Dampier To Cook University of California Press Curtis Wendlandt Lisa Gibbard Paul Green Karen 2016 Political Ideas of Enlightenment Women Virtue and Citizenship Routledge p 85 ISBN 978 1 317 07876 0 Hockey Thomas 2009 The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers Springer Publishing ISBN 978 0 387 31022 0 Retrieved 22 August 2012 Price Fred William 2000 The planet observer s handbook Cambridge University Press p 352 USNO Our Command History US Navy Retrieved 11 September 2009 Attribution This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Chisholm Hugh ed 1911 Lalande Joseph Jerome Lefrancais de Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 16 11th ed Cambridge University Press p 95 Further reading Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jerome Lalande Wikisource has original works by or about Jerome Lalande Memoires de l Institut VIII 1807 JBJ Delambre J B Delambre Histoire de l astronomie au XVIIIe siecle p 547 Magazin encyclopedique II 288 1810 Mme de Salm JS Bailly Histoire de l astronomie moderne t III ed 1785 J Madler Geschichte der Himmelskunde II 141 R Wolf Geschichte der Astronomie JJ Lalande Bibliographie astronomique p 428 JC Poggendorff Biographisch lit Handworterbuch Maximilien Marie Histoire des sciences mathematiques et physiques IX 35 Jerome Lalande at the Mathematics Genealogy Project Alphonse Rebiere Mathematiques et mathematiciens second edition Paris 1893 p 283 External links EditTome premier de Traite d astronomie de 1764 Abrege de navigation pdf Portrait of Jerome Lalande from the Lick Observatory Records Digital Archive UC Santa Cruz Library s Digital Collections Joseph Jerome Le Francais de Lalande letters to Mme Dupiery MSS 530 at L Tom Perry Special Collections Brigham Young University Letters from baron de Franz Xaver von Zach to Joseph Jerome Lefrancois de Lalande 1792 1806 at the digital library Paris Observatory Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jerome Lalande amp oldid 1151440790, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
