François Arago
25th Prime Minister of France
In office May 9, 1848 – June 24, 1848
Preceded by	Jacques-Charles Dupont de l'Eure
Succeeded by	Louis-Eugène Cavaignac
Born	February 26, 1786
Died	October 2, 1853
Political party	None

François Jean Dominique Arago (Catalan: Francesc Joan Dominic Aragó; February 26, 1786 – October 2, 1853) was a French mathematician, physicist, astronomer and politician. The Prime Minister of France ( Premier ministre français) in Fifth Republic is the functional Head of the government and Council of Ministers Events 1457 BC - Battle of Megiddo (15th century BC between Thutmose III and a large Canaanite coalition under the King of Year 1848 ( MDCCCXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap Events 972 - Battle of Cedynia, the first documented victory of Polish forces takes place Year 1848 ( MDCCCXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap Jacques-Charles Dupont de l'Eure (27 February 1767 3 March 1855 was a French lawyer and statesman Louis-Eugène Cavaignac (15 October 1802 - 28 October 1857 French general second son of Jean-Baptiste Cavaignac and brother of Éléonore Louis Godefroi Cavaignac Events 747 BC - Epoch (origin of Ptolemy 's Nabonassar Era 364 - Valentinian I is proclaimed Year 1786 ( MDCCLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 1187 - Siege of Jerusalem: Saladin captures Jerusalem after 88 years of Crusader rule Year 1853 ( MDCCCLIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Catalan ˈkætəˌlæn ( català kətəˈla or) is a Romance language, the national and official language of Andorra, and a co-official Events 747 BC - Epoch (origin of Ptolemy 's Nabonassar Era 364 - Valentinian I is proclaimed Year 1786 ( MDCCLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 1187 - Siege of Jerusalem: Saladin captures Jerusalem after 88 years of Crusader rule Year 1853 ( MDCCCLIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study and research is the field of Mathematics. A physicist is a Scientist who studies or practices Physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning Historically Astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky while Astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena A politician (from Greek " Polis " is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making through the influence of Politics or a person

Early life and work

Arago was born at Estagel, a small village near Perpignan, in the département of Pyrénées-Orientales, Catalan France. Perpignan ( French: Perpignan, pɛʀpiɲɑ̃ Catalan Perpinyà,) is a commune and the Préfecture (administrative In the context of the political and geographic organization of France and many of its former colonies a department (département depaʁtǝmɑ̃ is an Administrative division Pyrénées-Orientales (Eastern Pyrenees Pirineus Orientals Pirenèus Orientals is a department of southern France adjacent to the northern Spanish frontier This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. He was the eldest of four brothers. Jean (1788 - 1836) emigrated to North America and became a general in the Mexican army. Year 1788 ( MDCCLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap Year 1836 ( MDCCCXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. Jacques Étienne Victor (1799 - 1855) took part in Louis de Freycinet's exploring voyage in the Uranie from as 1817 to 1821, and on his return to France devoted himself to his journalism and the drama. Jacques Arago, (1790-1855 a brother of François Arago, a littérateur artist and explorer author of a "Voyage Round the World" Year 1799 ( MDCCXCIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Year 1855 ( MDCCCLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year This entry should not to be confused with Charles Louis de Saulces de Freycinet (1828–1923 a French Prime Minister Year 1817 ( MDCCCXVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1821 ( MDCCCXXI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year The fourth brother, Étienne Vincent de (1802 - 1892), is said to have collaborated with Honoré de Balzac in The Heiress of Birague, and from 1822 to 1847 wrote a great number of light dramatic pieces, mostly in collaboration. Year 1802 ( MDCCCII) was a Common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar or a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Year 1892 ( MDCCCXCII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Year 1822 (MDCCCXXII was a Common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Sunday of the Year 1847 ( MDCCCXLVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common

Showing decided military tastes, François Arago was sent to the municipal college of Perpignan, where he began to study mathematics in preparation for the entrance examination of the polytechnic school. Perpignan ( French: Perpignan, pɛʀpiɲɑ̃ Catalan Perpinyà,) is a commune and the Préfecture (administrative Mathematics is the body of Knowledge and Academic discipline that studies such concepts as Quantity, Structure, Space and Within two years and a half he had mastered all the subjects prescribed for examination, and a great deal more, and, on going up for examination at Toulouse, he astounded his examiner by his knowledge of J. L. Lagrange. Toulouse ( pronounced in standard French, and in the local accent ( Occitan: Tolosa, pronounced) is a city in southwest

Towards the close of 1803 Arago entered the École Polytechnique, Paris, but apparently found the professors there incapable of imparting knowledge or maintaining discipline. 1803 ( MDCCCIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a For other Écoles Polytechniques see École Polytechnique de Montréal and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city The artillery service was his ambition, and in 1804, through the advice and recommendation of Siméon Poisson, he received the appointment of secretary to the Paris Observatory. Year 1804 ( MDCCCIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Siméon-Denis Poisson (21 June 1781 &ndash 25 April 1840 was a French Mathematician, Geometer, and Physicist. The Paris Observatory (in French Observatoire de Paris or Observatoire de Paris-Meudon) is the foremost astronomical observatory of France, He now became acquainted with Pierre-Simon Laplace, and through his influence was commissioned, with Jean-Baptiste Biot, to complete the meridianal measurements which had been begun by J. B. J. Delambre, and interrupted since the death of P. Jean-Baptiste Biot (21 April 1774 Paris &ndash 3 February 1862 Paris) was a French Physicist, Astronomer and Mathematician This article is about the geographical concept For other uses of the word see Meridian. Jean Baptiste Joseph chevalier Delambre ( September 19, 1749 Amiens - August 19, 1822 Paris) was a French F. A. Méchain in 1804). Year 1804 ( MDCCCIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Arago and Biot left Paris in 1806 and began operations along the mountains of Spain. Year 1806 ( MDCCCVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Biot returned to Paris after they had determined the latitude of Formentera, the southernmost point to which they were to carry the survey. Formentera is the smallest and southernmost Island of the Illes Pitiüses group (which includes Ibiza and Formentera and belongs to the Balearic Islands Arago continued the work until 1809, his purpose being to measure a meridian arc in order to determine the exact length of a metre. Year 1809 ( MDCCCIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year In Geometry, an arc is a closed segment of a Differentiable Curve in the two-dimensional plane; for example a circular The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International

After Biot's departure, the political ferment caused by the entrance of the French into Spain extended to the Balearic Islands, and the population suspected Arago's movements and his lighting of fires on the top of mola de l'Esclop as the activities of a spy for the invading army. The Balearic Islands ( Catalan and official Illes Balears; Spanish: Islas Baleares) are an Archipelago in the western Mediterranean Their reaction was such that he was obliged to give himself up for imprisonment in the fortress of Bellver in June 1808. Bellver Castle (Castell de Bellver is a circular Castle on a hill near Palma de Mallorca on the Island of Majorca, Balearic Islands. Year 1808 ( MDCCCVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year On July 28 he escaped from the island in a fishing-boat, and after an adventurous voyage he reached Algiers on August 3. Events 1540 - Thomas Cromwell is executed at the order of Henry VIII of England on charges of Treason. Algiers (الجزائر Algerian Arabic: Dzayer ( (From kabyle pronunciation Kabyle: Ledzayer, Alger) is the Capital and largest Events 8 - Roman Empire General Tiberius defeats Dalmatians on the river Bathinus. From there he obtained a passage in a vessel bound for Marseille, but on August 16, just as the vessel was nearing Marseille, it fell into the hands of a Spanish corsair. Marseille, ( English alt Marseilles mɑrˈseɪ — French: maʁsɛj locally — Provençal Occitan: Marselha maʀˈsijɔ Events 1384 - The Hongwu Emperor of Ming China, Emperor Dong hears a case of a couple who tore paper money bills while fighting A privateer was a private Warship authorized by a country's Government by Letters of marque to attack foreign shipping With the rest the crew, Arago was taken to Roses, and imprisoned first in a windmill, and afterwards in a fortress, until the town fell into the hands of the French, when the prisoners were transferred to Palamos. Roses is a Municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Alt Empordà in Catalonia, Spain. Palamós is a town and municipality in the Mediterranean Costa Brava, located in the comarca of Baix Empordà, in the province of

After three months' imprisonment, Arago and the others were released on the demand of the dey of Algiers, and again set sail for Marseille on the November 28, but then within sight of their port they were driven back by a northerly wind to Bougie on the coast of Africa. Dey (Arabic داي from Turkish Dayı) was the title given to the rulers of the Regency of Algiers ( Algeria) and Tunis ( Tunisia) under For the town in Argentina, see 28 de Noviembre. Events Transport to Algiers by sea from this place would have occasioned a weary delay of three months; Arago, therefore, set out over land, guided by a Moslem priest, and reached it on Christmas Day. After six months in Algiers he once again, on the June 21, 1809, set sail for Marseille, where he had to undergo a monotonous and inhospitable quarantine in the lazaretto, before his difficulties were over. Events 524 - Godomar, King of the Burgundians defeats the Franks at the Battle of Vézeronce. Year 1809 ( MDCCCIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year A lazaretto or lazaret is a Quarantine station for maritime travellers The first letter he received, while in the lazaretto, was from Alexander von Humboldt; and this was the origin of a connection which, in Arago's words, lasted over forty years without a single cloud ever having troubled it. (September 14 1769 &ndash May 6 1859 was a German naturalist and explorer, and the younger brother of the Prussian minister philosopher and linguist

Scientific studies

Arago had succeeded in preserving the records of his survey; and his first act on his return home was to deposit them in the Bureau des Longitudes at Paris. The Bureau des Longitudes is a French scientific institution founded by decree of June 25 1795 and charged with the improvement of nautical Navigation Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city As a reward for his adventurous conduct in the cause of science, he was elected a member of the French Academy of Sciences, at the remarkably early age of twenty-three, and before the close of 1809 he was chosen by the council of the polytechnic school to succeed Gaspard Monge in the chair of analytical geometry. The French Academy of Sciences ( French: Académie des sciences) is a Learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the Gaspard Monge Comte de Péluse ( May 10, 1746 &ndash July 28, 1818) was a French Mathematician and inventor of Analytic geometry, also called coordinate geometry and earlier referred to as Cartesian geometry or analytical geometry, is the study of Geometry At the same time he was named by the emperor one of the astronomers of the Royal Observatory, which was accordingly his residence till his death, and it was in this capacity that he delivered his remarkably successful series of popular lectures in astronomy, which were continued from 1812 to 1845. Year 1812 ( MDCCCXII) a leap year started on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Year 1845 ( MDCCCXLV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common

In 1816, along with Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac, he started the Annales de chemie et de physique, and in 1818 or 1819 he proceeded along with Biot to execute geodetic operations on the coasts of France, England and Scotland. Year 1816 ( MDCCCXVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac (also Louis Joseph Gay-Lussac, December 6, 1778 – May 9, 1850) was a French chemist Year 1818 ( MDCCCXVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Year 1819 ( MDCCCXIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar in the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year They measured the length of the seconds-pendulum at Leith, Scotland, and in the Shetland Islands, the results of the observations being published in 1821, along with those made in Spain. Formerly a municipal Burgh, Leith (Lìte is a district in the north of the city of Edinburgh at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is the port Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Shetland (formerly spelled Zetland, from etland; Old Norse non Hjaltland; Sealtainn is an Archipelago off the northeast coast of Year 1821 ( MDCCCXXI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year Arago was elected a member of the Bureau des Longitudes immediately afterwards, and contributed to each of its Annuals, for about twenty-two years, important scientific notices on astronomy and meteorology and occasionally on civil engineering, as well as interesting memoirs of members of the Academy.

Arago's earliest physical researches were on the pressure of steam at different temperatures, and the velocity of sound, 1818 to 1822. Pressure (symbol 'p' is the force per unit Area applied to an object in a direction perpendicular to the surface Uses A Steam engine uses the expansion of steam in order to drive a Piston or Turbine to perform Mechanical work. Temperature is a physical property of a system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold something that is hotter generally has the greater temperature In Physics, velocity is defined as the rate of change of Position. Sound' is Vibration transmitted through a Solid, Liquid, or Gas; particularly sound means those vibrations composed of Frequencies Year 1818 ( MDCCCXVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Year 1822 (MDCCCXXII was a Common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Sunday of the His magnetic observations mostly took place from 1823 to 1826. A magnet (from Greek grc μαγνήτης λίθος " Magnesian stone" is a material or object that produces a Magnetic field. Year 1823 ( MDCCCXXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common For the game see 1826 (board game. Year 1826 ( MDCCCXXVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display He discovered what has been called rotatory magnetism, and the fact that most bodies could be magnetized; these discoveries were completed and explained by Michael Faraday. Michael Faraday, FRS ( September 22 1791 – August 25 1867) was an English

Arago warmly supported Jean-Augustin Fresnel's optical theories, helping to confirm Fresnel's wave theory of light by observing what is now known as the spot of Arago. In Optics, an Arago spot is a bright point which appears at the center of the Shadow of a circular object in Light from a Point source. The two philosophers conducted together those experiments on the polarization of light which led to the inference that the vibrations of the luminiferous ether were transverse to the direction of motion, and that polarization consisted in a resolution of rectilinear motion into components at right angles to each other. Polarization ( ''Brit'' polarisation) is a property of Waves that describes the orientation of their oscillations Light, or visible light, is Electromagnetic radiation of a Wavelength that is visible to the Human eye (about 400–700 Oscillation is the repetitive variation typically in Time, of some measure about a central value (often a point of Equilibrium) or between two or more different states In the late 19th century " luminiferous aether " (or " ether " meaning light-bearing aether, was the term used to describe a medium for the propagation In Physics, motion means a constant change in the location of a body The subsequent invention of the polariscope and discovery of Rotary polarization are due to Arago. Polarimetry is the measurement and interpretation of the Polarization of Transverse waves, most notably electromagnetic waves such as radio waves and Light Rotary polarization is an optical phenomenon occurring in certain crystalline materials He invented the first polarization filter in 1812. ^[1]

The general idea of the experimental determination of the velocity of light in the manner subsequently effected by Hippolyte Fizeau and Léon Foucault was suggested by Arago in 1838, but his failing eyesight prevented his arranging the details or making the experiments. Armand Hippolyte Louis Fizeau (1819-1896 French physicist, was born in Paris. Jean Bernard Léon Foucault (ʒɑ̃ bɛʁnaʁ leɔ̃ fu'ko ( 18 September 1819 &ndash 11 February 1868) was a French physicist Year 1838 ( MDCCCXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common

François Arago,

Arago's fame as an experimenter and discoverer rests mainly on his contributions to magnetism and still more to optics. He showed that a magnetic needle, made to oscillate over nonruginous surfaces, such as water, glass, copper, etc. , falls more rapidly in the extent of its oscillations according as it is more or less approached to the surface. This discovery, which earned him the Copley Medal of the Royal Society in 1825, was followed by another, that a rotating plate of copper tends to communicate its motion to a magnetic needle suspended over it ("magnetism of rotation"). The Copley Medal is a scientific award for distinguished achievement in any field of Science established by the Royal Society of London in 1731 The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as The Royal Society, is a Learned society for science that was founded in 1660 Arago is also fairly entitled to be regarded as having proved the long-suspected connexion between the aurora borealis and the variations of the magnetic elements.

In optics, Arago not only made important optical discoveries on his own, but is credited with stimulating the genius of Jean-Augustin Fresnel, with whose history, as well as that of Etienne-Louis Malus and Thomas Young, this part of his life is closely interwoven. Etienne-Louis Malus (23 July 1775 &ndash 24 February 1812 was a French officer, Engineer, Physicist, and Mathematician. Thomas Young (13 June 1773 &ndash 10 May 1829 was an English Polymath who contributed to the scientific understanding of vision, Light

Shortly after the beginning of the 19th century the labours of at least three philosophers were shaping the doctrine of the undulatory, or wave, theory of light. Fresnel's arguments in favour of that theory found little favour with Laplace, Poisson and Biot, the champions of the emission theory; but they were ardently espoused by Humboldt and by Arago, who had been appointed by the Academy to report on the paper. This was the foundation of an intimate friendship between Arago and Fresnel, and of a determination to carry on together further fundamental laws of the polarization of light known by their means. Polarization ( ''Brit'' polarisation) is a property of Waves that describes the orientation of their oscillations As a result of this work, Arago constructed a polariscope, which he used for some interesting observations on the polarization of the light of the sky. To him also is due the discovery of the power of rotatory polarization exhibited by quartz. Quartz (from German) is the most abundant Mineral in the Earth 's Continental crust (although Feldspar is more common in

Among Arago's many contributions to the support of the undulatory hypothesis, comes the experimentum crucis which he proposed to carry out for measuring directly the velocity of light in air and in water and glass. On the emission theory the velocity should be accelerated by an increase of density in the medium; on the wave theory, it should be retarded. In 1838 he communicated to the Academy the details of his apparatus, which utilized the relaying mirrors employed by Charles Wheatstone in 1835 for measuring the velocity of the electric discharge; but owing to the great care required in the carrying out of the project, and to the interruption to his labours caused by the revolution of 1848, it was the spring of 1850 before he was ready to put his idea the test; and then his eyesight suddenly gave way. Sir Charles Wheatstone FRS (6 February 1802 - 19 October 1875 was a British Scientist and Inventor of many scientific breakthroughs Before his death, however, the retardation of light in denser media was demonstrated by the experiments of H. L. Fizeau and B. L. Foucault, which, with improvements in detail, were based on the plan proposed by him.

Politics and legacy

One of the 135 Arago medallions set along the Paris Meridian for 9. 2km, in memorial to Arago and his work on the meridian and his measurements of the Earth.

In 1830, Arago, who always professed liberal opinions of the republican type, was elected a member of the chamber of deputies for the Pyrénées-Orientales département, and he employed his talents of eloquence and scientific knowledge in all questions connected with public education, the rewards of inventors, and the encouragement of the mechanical and practical sciences. For the game see 1830 (board game. Year 1830 ( MDCCCXXX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display Pyrénées-Orientales (Eastern Pyrenees Pirineus Orientals Pirenèus Orientals is a department of southern France adjacent to the northern Spanish frontier In the Terminology of Political geography and Historiography a National department (département departamento is an administrative Many the most creditable national enterprises, dating from this period, are due to his advocacy - such as the reward to Louis-Jacques Daguerre for the invention of photography, the grant for the publication of the works of Fermat and Laplace, the acquisition of the museum of Cluny, the development of railways and electric telegraphs, the improvement of the reneile. Photography (fә'tɒgrәfi or fә'tɑːgrәfi (from Greek φωτο and γραφία is the process and Art of recording pictures by means of capturing

In 1830 Arago also was appointed director of the Observatory, and as a member of the chamber of deputies he was able to obtain grants of money for rebuilding it in part, and for the addition of magnificent instruments. In the same year, too, he was chosen perpetual secretary of the Academy of Sciences, the place of J. B. J. Fourier. Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier ( March 21, 1768 &ndash May 16, 1830) was a French Mathematician and Physicist Arago threw himself into its service, and by his faculty of making friends he gained at once for it and for himself a world-wide reputation. As perpetual secretary it was his duty to pronounce historical éloges on deceased members; and for this duty his rapidity and facility of thought, and his happy piquancy of style, and his extensive knowledge peculiarly adapted him.

In 1834 Arago again visited Scotland, to attend the meeting of the British Association at Edinburgh. Edinburgh ( ˈɛdɪnb(ərə Dùn Èideann) is the Capital of Scotland and is its second largest city after Glasgow. From this time till 1848 he led a life of comparative quiet - although he continued to work within the Academy and the Observatory to produce a multitude of contributions to all departments of physical science - but on the fall of Louis-Philippe he left his laboratory to join the Provisional Government (February 24, 1848). Louis Philippe ( 6 October 1773 &ndash 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848 in what was known as the He was entrusted with two important functions, that had never before been given to one person, viz. the ministry of marine and colonies (February 24, 1848 - May 11, 1848) and ministry of war (April 5, 1848 - May 11, 1848); in the former capacity he improved of rations in the navy and abolished flogging. He also abolished political oaths of all kinds, and, against an array of moneyed interests, succeeded in procuring the abolition of negro slavery in the French colonies.

On May 10, 1848, Arago was elected a member of the Executive Power Commission, a governing body of the French Republic. The Executive Commission of the French Republic was a short-lived body and jointly head of state of France during the Second Republic. He was made President of the Executive Power Commission (May 11, 1848) and served in this capacity as provisional head of state until June 24, 1848, when collective resignation of the Commission was submitted to the National Constituent Assembly. At the beginning of May 1852, when the government of Louis Napoleon required an oath of allegiance from all its functionaries, Arago peremptorily refused, and sent in his resignation of his post as astronomer at the Bureau des Longitudes. This, however, the prince president declined to accept, and made "an exception in favour of a savant whose works had thrown lustre on France, and whose existence the government would regret to embitter. "

Last years

Arago remained a consistent republican to the end, and after the coup d'état of 1852, though suffering first from diabetes, then from Bright's disease, complicated by dropsy, he resigned his post as astronomer rather than take the oath of allegiance. Year 1852 ( MDCCCLII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Diabetes mellitus (ˌdaɪəˈbiːtiːz or /ˌdaɪəˈbiːtəs/ /məˈlaɪtəs/ or /ˈmɛlətəs/ often referred to simply as diabetes ( Ancient Greek: grc Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that would be described in modern Medicine as acute or chronic Nephritis Napoleon III gave directions that the old man should be in no way disturbed, and should be left free to say and do what he liked. Napoléon III, also known as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (full name Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte) (20 April 1808 9 January 1873 was the first President In the summer of 1853 Arago was advised by his physicians to try the effect of his native air, and he accordingly set out to the eastern Pyrenees, but it was ineffective and he died in Paris. His grave is at the famous cemetery Père Lachaise in Paris. Père Lachaise Cemetery (Cimetière du Père-Lachaise officially cimetière de l'Est, "East Cemetery" is the largest Cemetery in the city of Paris

Craters on Mars and the Moon, and a ring of Neptune, are named after Arago, as well as the study association for Applied Physics at the University of Twente. Arago as a crater may refer to Arago (lunar crater Arago (crater on Mars Arago is a lunar Impact crater located in the western part of the Mare Tranquillitatis. Neptune has a faint dusty Planetary ring system, which was discovered in 1989 by Voyager 2 spacecraft University of Twente (or Twente University) is a University located in Enschede, Netherlands.

Publications

Grave of Arago at Père Lachaise in Paris

Arago's works were published after his death under the direction J. Père Lachaise Cemetery (Cimetière du Père-Lachaise officially cimetière de l'Est, "East Cemetery" is the largest Cemetery in the city of Paris A. Barral, in 17 vols. , 8vo, 1854-1862; also separately his Astronomie populaire, in 4 vols. ; Notices biographiques, in 3 vols. ; Indices scientifiques, in 5 vols. ; Voyages scientifiques, in 1 vol. ; Grimoires scientifiques, in 2 vols. ; Mélanges, in I vol. ; and Tables analytiques et documents importants (with portrait), in 1 vol.

English translations of the following portions of Arago's works have appeared:

• Treatise on Comets, by C. Gold, C. B. (London, 1833); also translated Smyth and Grant (London, 1861)
• Euloge of James Watt, by Muirhead (London, 1839); also translated, with notes, by Brougham
• Popular Lectures on Astronomy, by Walter Kelly and Rev. L. Tomlinson (London, 1854); also translated by Dr W. H. Smyth and Prof. R. Grant, 2 vols. (London, 1855)
• Arago's Autography, translated by the Rev. Baden Powell (London, 1855, 58)
• Arago's Meteorological Essays, with introduction by Humboldt, translated under the supervision of Colonel Sabine (London, 1855)
• Arago's Biographies of Scientific Men, translated by Smyth, Powell and Grant, 8vo (London, 1857)

References

External links

• Arago in the 1911 Encyclopedia Brittanica - the original source for almost all of this page's content
• Obituary: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 1854, volume 14, page 102
• O'Connor, John J. & Robertson, Edmund F. , “François Arago”, MacTutor History of Mathematics archive 
• The 0 meridian in Paris misused in the Da Vinci Code is in fact an art project by the Dutch artist Jan Dibbets (1941) made in 1987 as a tribute to the astronomer François Arago (1786-1853) [1]
• The study association S.V. Arago(Dutch) at Universiteit Twente is named after François Arago. The MacTutor History of Mathematics archive is an award-winning website maintained by John J Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Jan Dibbets (born 9 May 1941, Weert) is a Dutch Conceptual artist. University of Twente (or Twente University) is a University located in Enschede, Netherlands.

Further reading

• Hahn, Roger (1970). "Arago, Dominique François Jean". Dictionary of Scientific Biography 1. The Dictionary of Scientific Biography is a scholarly reference work that was published from 1970 through 1980 New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 200-203. ISBN 0684101149.