NOVEMBEK 14, 1913] 



SCIENCE 



687 



established in the Bibliotheque du Roi, and 

 the astronomical instruments were mounted 

 in the garden, awaiting the completion of 

 the great observatory designed by Perrault, 

 where some of the meetings were subse- 

 quently held. Picart undertook the meas- 

 urement of an are of the meridian which, 

 when completed by Cassini, removed the 

 last doubt of Newton as to the theory of 

 gravitation. He was also sent to Denmark 

 to determine the position of the ancient 

 observatory of Tycho Brahe. Geographical 

 maps were corrected and the latitudes and 

 longitudes of a great number of points were 

 measured. Richer went to Cayenne to 

 determine the length of the pendulum and 

 to make other observations. In short, the 

 greatest activity reigned under the personal 

 stimulus of Colbert, whose correspondence 

 shows how large an amount of time he de- 

 voted to the interests of the Academy. 

 Well-known names were added to the list 

 of members, including those of Roemer, 

 who determined the velocity of light from 

 the eclipses of Jupiter's satellites; Cassini, 

 the first of a remarkable lineage of astron- 

 omers; the anatomist du Verney; and the 

 great Leibnitz. 



Under Louvois, the successor of Colbert, 

 the Academy languished, but Bignon 's plan 

 of reorganization, adopted in 1699, inaugu- 

 rated a new period of progress. The Acad- 

 emy was provided with quarters in the 

 Louvre, where it remained until Napoleon 

 assigned to the Institute the former College 

 Mazarin which it still occupies. Its unpub- 

 lished memoirs were promptly printed, and 

 were so favorably received by the public 

 that as many as three editions were some- 

 times demanded. At this period a class of 

 "associes libres" was established, to which 

 such men as Turgot, the engineers Perronet 

 and Belidor and Bougainville the explorer 

 have since belonged. 



During the eighteenth century the Acad- 



emy attained a height only surpassed dur- 

 ing the brilliant epoch following the Revo- 

 lution. Among the important events of this 

 century were the mathematical researches 

 of Clairaut and d'Alembert; the expedi- 

 tions of Clairaut and Maupertuis to Lap- 

 land and of Godin, Bouguer and La Con- 

 damine to Peru, for the measurement of 

 ares of the meridian ; the similar under- 

 taking of La Caille at the Cape, where he 

 also determined the lunar parallax in co- 

 operation with astronomers in the northern 

 hemisphere; and the observations of the 

 transits of Venus in 1761 and 1769 by 

 Pingre at Rodrigues' Island, LeGentil in 

 India, and Chappe in Siberia and Cali- 

 fornia. The Cassinis continued their exten- 

 sive astronomical and geodetic investiga- 

 tions in France, where the activity of 

 astronomical research is illustrated by the 

 fact that when Bernouilli came to Paris in 

 1760 he found, in addition to the original 

 observatory, eight or ten other observatories 

 engaged in investigation under the direc- 

 tion of academicians. Lalande, known as 

 a severe critic, wrote in 1766 : 



The collection of Memoirs of tlie Academy of 

 Sciences is the richest storehouse of astronomical 

 knowledge which we possess. 



But the work of the Academy was by no 

 means confined to astronomy and its sister 

 sciences. Through the investigations of its 

 chemists, the way was prepared for the 

 creation of modern chemistry by Lavoisier. 

 Reaumur, Buffon and their contemporaries 

 were making extensive contributions to 

 natural history, while Haiiy was laying the 

 foundations of mineralogy. At the same 

 time Geoffroy and the three Jussieus shared 

 with Linnteus the honor of creating the 

 science of botany. 



Under such conditions it is not surpris- 

 ing that the nation should turn to the Acad- 

 emy for assistance and guidance in many 

 of its enterprises. Ministers, parliaments, 



