Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis

Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis (1698-1759) was a French mathematician and astronomer, born at St. Malo. He went to Lapland to measure a degree of longitude, to ascertain the figure of the earth. He wrote a book "On the Figure of the Earth". Later, he was invited to Berlin by Frederick the Great (1712 – 1786), and made President of the Academy of Science there. He was satirised by Voltaire (1694 – 1778) much to the annoyance of the king, who patronised him and prided himself in the institution of which he was the head.

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Pierre Nicole, Pierre Paul Royer-Collard, Pierre Ronsard, Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, Pierre Simon Ballanche