Pierre-Simon Laplace was born on 23 March 1749 in Beaumont-en-Auge. A French mathematician and astronomer, Laplace worked on celestial mechanics, probability and mathematical physics. His five-volume Celestial Mechanics extended Newton's work and attempted to show that the solar system is stable, and he proposed the nebular hypothesis, in which the sun and planets formed from a rotating cloud of gas. He also developed Bayesian-style probability theory and the Laplace transform. A scientific adviser under Napoleon and briefly minister of the interior, he adapted to political change and was rewarded with titles after the Bourbon restoration.
Before and after
- from 1748 to 1767Indian campaign of Ahmad Shah Durrani
- 1748Excavations begin at Pompeii
- 30 August 1748Birth of Jacques-Louis David
- 18 October 1748Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
- 23 March 1749Birth of Pierre-Simon Laplace
- 17 May 1749Birth of Edward Jenner
- 28 August 1749Birth of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- 1750Founding of Toronto
- c. 1750sRise of Neoclassical architecture
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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.