Joseph Fourier died on 16 May 1830 in Paris, aged 62. A French mathematician and physicist from Auxerre, Fourier took part in Napoleon's expedition to Egypt as a scientific adviser and later served as prefect of the department of Isère. His book The Analytical Theory of Heat, published in 1822, introduced the method of representing functions as sums of sines and cosines, now called Fourier series, and the Fourier transform that grew from it. These tools are fundamental to the analysis of waves, signals and heat conduction, and underpin modern signal processing. He was also among the first to describe how the atmosphere could warm the Earth, an early insight into the greenhouse effect. He became permanent secretary of the French Academy of Sciences.
Before and after
- from 1830 to 1900Rise of literary realism
- 1830Rise of Carlism
- 1830Charles Lyell publishes Principles of Geology
- from 12 January 1830 to 10 September 1895Great Game
- 16 May 1830Death of Joseph Fourier
- 10 July 1830Birth of Camille Pissarro
- from 26 July 1830 to 29 July 1830July Revolution
- 18 August 1830Birth of Franz Joseph I of Austria
- from 25 August 1830 to 21 July 1831Belgian Revolution
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- 1772Discovery of nitrogen
- 1789Discovery of carbon
- 1825Discovery of aluminium
- 18 August 1868Discovery of helium
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.