Étienne-Hyacinthe de Ratte (1722, Montpellier – 15 August 1805) was an 18th-century French

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

and

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

. De Ratte made some verses in his youth, but he soon turned away from his natural tastes to engage with ardor in the study of mathematics. At twenty-one, he was secretary of the . De Ratte also wrote a number of contributions to the ''

Encyclopédie , better known as ''Encyclopédie'' (), was a general encyclopedia published in France between 1751 and 1772, with later supplements, revised editions, and translations. It had many writers, known as the Encyclopédistes. It was edited by Denis ...

'' on physical issues such as ''froid'', ''glace'', ''gelée'', etc. Although Ratte pursued diverse scientific interests, he devoted himself mainly to astronomy. In this discipline, he made a large number of observations, such as the

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

transit on 6 June 1761. The minor planet 159409 Ratte, discovered at Pises Observatory in 1999, was named in his memory.

Works (selection)

*1743: ''Sur les pressions qui naissent du poids des parties supérieures d'un fluide en repos sur les inférieures et sur les pressions latérales des fluides dans des vases de différentes figures.'' * ''Sur l'accroissement subit de la tige d'une espèce d'aloès, agave americana de Linné.'' * ''Recherches sur la pesanteur dans un milieu, composé de petits tourbillons'' * ''Histoire de l'Académie royale de Montpellier depuis son origine jusqu'aux événements de 1789.''

Sources

* Ferdinand Hoefer, ''Nouvelle Biographie générale'', t. 41, Paris, Firmin-Didot, 1862, (p. 697–9). * Pierre Larousse, ''Grand Dictionnaire universel du XIXe'', vol. 13, Paris, Administration du grand Dictionnaire universel, (p. 730).

References

External links

Étienne-Hyacinthe de Ratte
on data.bnf.fr
Ratte, Etienne Hyacinthe de (1722–1805)
o
Thésaurus du CERL

Persée
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ratte, Etienne-Hyacinthe 1722 births 1805 deaths 18th-century French mathematicians Contributors to the Encyclopédie (1751–1772) 18th-century French astronomers Scientists from Montpellier