Whose Birthday Is It? March 21, 2016

Joseph Fourier (1768)

Fourier was a French mathematician and Egyptologist. As an engineer on the Egyptian expedition led by Napoleon—who later made him a baron—he conducted anthropological investigations and wrote the preface to the monumental Description de l’Égypte, whose publication he oversaw. In mathematics, he is primarily known for his work in heat conduction and for his use of the Fourier series to solve differential equations. Whom did Fourier inspire to study Egyptology? More…