Antoine Deparcieux facts for kids

Antoine Deparcieux, a famous French mathematician.

Antoine Deparcieux (born October 28, 1703 – died September 2, 1768) was a smart French mathematician. He is best known for his work on how long people are likely to live. This helped create early forms of life insurance.

Antoine grew up in a small village called Clessous in France. He went to school in Saint Florent for ten years. At the same time, he helped out on his family's farm. He loved learning and wanted to know more. In 1725, when he was 22, he moved to Lyon. There, he studied at a school run by the Jesuits for five years.

In 1730, Antoine moved to Paris. He wanted to learn even more about mathematics and physics. To earn money, he made and sold sundials. These were tools that told time using the sun's shadow.

His Important Work

Antoine Deparcieux became a very respected scientist. In 1746, he joined the Academy of Sciences in Paris. This was a big honor! Later, around 1765, he was given the title of Censeur Royal. This meant he helped check and approve new books and ideas.

He was also a librarian at the University of Strasbourg. He was a member of many other important science academies. These included academies in Paris, Montpellier, Lyon, and even in other countries like Berlin and Stockholm.

What He Built

Antoine Deparcieux was not just good with numbers. He also designed and built useful machines:

• A machine to lift water at Crécy castle.
• A special pump for the castle of Arnouville.
• A large press used to make tobacco.

His Books and Studies

Antoine also wrote many important books and papers. His most famous work helped us understand how long people live:

• Traité de trigonométrie rectiligne et sphérique (1738): This book was about trigonometry, a branch of math that deals with triangles.
• Traité complet de Gnomonique (1741): This book was all about how to make sundials.
• Essai sur les probabilités de la durée de la vie humaine (1746): This book, meaning "Essay on the probabilities of the human lifespan," is his most famous.
  

  The title page of Deparcieux's famous book, Essai sur les probabilités, published in 1746.
• Mémoire sur la courbure des ondes (1747): This paper was about the curves of waves.

In 1758, Antoine Deparcieux was chosen as a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. This showed how important his work was around the world.

See also

• Life annuity