Biographies of distinguished scientific men. First series

by F. Arago

CONTENTS.

• THE HISTORY OF MY YOUTH.
  • [An Autobiography of Francis Arago]
• BAILLY.
  • [Introduction.]
  • [Infancy Of Bailly.—His Youth.—His Literary Essays.—His Mathematical Studies.]
  • [Bailly becomes the Pupil of Lacaille.—He is associated with him in his Astronomical Labours.]
  • [Bailly a Member of the Academy of Sciences.—His Researches on Jupiter's Satellites.]
  • [Bailly's Literary Works.—His Biographies of Charles V.—of Leibnitz—of Peter Corneille—of Molière.]
  • [Debates relative to the Post of Perpetual Secretary of the Academy of Sciences.]
  • [History of Astronomy.—Letters on the Atlantis of Plato and on the Ancient History of Asia.]
  • [First Interview of Bailly with Franklin.—His Entrance into the French Academy in 1783.—His Reception.—Discourse.—His Rupture with Buffon.]
  • [Report on Animal Magnetism.]
  • [Election of Bailly into the Academy of Inscriptions.]
  • [Report on the Hospitals.]
  • [Report on the Slaughter-Houses.]
  • [Biographies of Cook and of Gresset.]
  • [Assembly of the Notables.—Bailly is named First Deputy of Paris; and soon after Dean or Senior of the Deputies of the Communes.]
  • [Bailly becomes Mayor of Paris.—Scarcity.—Marat declares himself inimical to the Mayor.—Events of the 6th of October.]
  • [A Glance at the Posthumous Memoir of Bailly.]
  • [Examination of Bailly's Administration as Mayor.]
  • [The King's Flight.—Events on the Champ de Mars.]
  • [Bailly quits the Mayoralty the 12th of November, 1791.—The Eschevins.—Examination of the Reproaches that might be addressed to the Mayor.]
  • [Bailly's Journey from Paris to Nantes, and then from Nantes to Mélun.—His Arrest in this last Town.—He is transferred to Paris.]
  • [Bailly is called as a Witness in the Trial of the Queen.—His own Trial before the Revolutionary Tribunal.—His Condemnation to Death.—His Execution.—Imaginary Details added by ill-informed Historians to what that odious and frightful Event already presented.]
  • [Portrait of Bailly.—His Wife.]
• HERSCHEL.
  • [Personal History.]
  • [Chronological Table of the Memoirs of William Herschel.]
  • [Improvements in the Means of Observation.]
  • [Labours in Sidereal Astronomy.]
  • [Labours relative to the Solar System.]
  • [Optical Labours.]
• LAPLACE.
  • [Preliminary Notice.]
  • APPENDIX.
  • [(A.) Brief Notice of some other interesting Results of the Researches of Laplace which have not been mentioned in the Text.]
  • [(B.) The Mécanique Céleste.]
• JOSEPH FOURIER.
  • [Preliminary Notice.]
  • [Birth of Fourier.—His Youth.]
  • [Memoir on the Resolution of Numerical Equations.]
  • [Part played by Fourier in our Revolution.—His Entrance into the Corps of Professors of the Normal School and the Polytechnic School.—Expedition to Egypt.]
  • [Fourier Prefect of L'Isère.]
  • [Mathematical Theory of Heat.]
  • [Central Heat of the Terrestrial Globe.]
  • [Return of Napoleon from Elba.—Fourier Prefect of the Rhone.—His Nomination to the Office of Director of the Board of Statistics of the Seine.]
  • [Entrance of Fourier into the Academy of Sciences.—His Election to the Office of Perpetual Secretary.—His Admission to the French Academy.]
  • [Character of Fourier.—His Death.]

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