Gaspard-Gustave de Coriolis

Gaspard-Gustave de Coriolis

French mathematician, born at Paris, in 1792; died in the same city, 1843. He entered the Ecole Polytechnique in 1808, and later continued his studies at the Ecole des Ponts et Chaussées. Though determined to become an engineer, he did not enter upon the practice of his profession, but became instead, in the year 1816, a tutor in mathematical analysis and mechanics at the Ecole Polytechnique. In 1838 he succeeded Dulong as director of studies in the same school. He became a member of the Académie des Sciences in 1836. Coriolis was a man of much ability, but his delicate health prevented him from doing justice to his powers. He was a successful educator and together with Gen. Poncelet was one of the pioneers of reform in the methods of teaching mechanics. While engaged in teaching, he at the same time carried on his researches in theoretical and applied mechanics. The theorem enunciated by him regarding relative motions has found numerous applications, particularly in the case of motions taking place on the surface of the earth: as, for example, the deviation towards the east of falling bodies, the apparent rotation of the plane of vibration of a pendulum, etc. Coriolis was the author of "Calcul de l'effet des machines" (1829), which was reprinted in 1844 with the title "Traité de la mécanique des corps solides", and of "Théorie mathématique du jeu de billard" (1835). He also published a number of articles, notably in the "Dictionnaire de l'industrie".

MARIE, Hist. des sciences math. et phys. (Paris, 1888), XII, 190.

HENRY M. BROCK