Jean Le Rond d'Alembert was born on 16 November 1717 in Paris. A French mathematician, physicist and philosopher, d'Alembert was an illegitimate child, abandoned on the steps of a church in Paris, from which his name derives. He made important contributions to mechanics, with his principle of dynamics, and to the study of vibrating strings, partial differential equations and fluid dynamics. With Denis Diderot he edited the Encyclopedie, writing the introductory Preliminary Discourse, a statement of Enlightenment ideals, and many articles on science. He was a member of the Academie francaise and long served as its permanent secretary. He was also a patron of the salon of Julie de Lespinasse.
Before and after
- from 8 July 1716 to 21 August 1716Siege of Corfu
- 14 November 1716Death of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
- 13 May 1717Birth of Maria Theresa of Austria
- from 18 June 1717 to 21 August 1717Siege of Belgrade
- 16 November 1717Birth of Jean Le Rond d'Alembert
- 21 July 1718Treaty of Passarowitz
- from 2 August 1718 to 17 February 1720War of the Quadruple Alliance
- from 28 December 1718 to 5 January 1719Carolean Death March
- 25 April 1719Publication of Robinson Crusoe
More in Art, literature & culture
- c. 1500sMona Lisa
- 18 April 1506Construction of St. Peter's Basilica
- from 31 October 1517 to 1 January 1648Protestant Reformation
- 1 January 1519Origins of Reformed Christianity
- 1605Publication of Don Quixote
- from 17th century to 19th centuryAge of Enlightenment
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 18th century.