Philippe de La Hire

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Philippe de La Hire (or Lahire or Phillipe de La Hire) (March 18, 1640 — April 21, 1719), was a French mathematician and astronomer. According to Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle he was an "academy unto himself".

He was born in Paris, the son of Laurent de La Hire, a distinguished artist. In 1660, he moved to Rome to study painting. Upon his return to Paris, he began to study science and showed an aptitude for mathematics. He wrote on graphical methods, 1673; on the conic sections, 1685; a treatise on epicycloids, 1694; one on roulettes, 1702; and, lastly, another on conchoids, 1708. His works on conic sections and epicycloids were founded on the teaching of Desargues, whose favourite pupil he was. He also translated the essay of Manuel Moschopulus on magic squares, and collected many of the theorems on them which were previously known; this was published in 1705. He also published a set of astronomical tables in 1702.

This text incorporates public domain material from [Rouse History of Mathematics]

External link

[Philippe de La Hire] at the Catholic Encyclopedia

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