Jean-Christophe Fatio de Duillier (17 November 1656 – 18 October 1720) was a

Genevan Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

engineer, politician, and

natural philosopher Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics, that is, nature and the physical universe, while ignoring any supernatural influence. It was dominant before the developme ...

, who became

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1706.Jean-Christophe Fatio de Duillier
in the

Historical Dictionary of Switzerland The ''Historical Dictionary of Switzerland'' (Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse; DHS) is an encyclopedia on the history of Switzerland. It aims to present the history of Switzerland in the form of an encyclopaedia, published both on paper a ...

. He was the elder brother of Nicolas Fatio. He was elected F.R.S. on 3 April 1706 and published in the ''

Philosophical Transactions ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'' is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society. In its earliest days, it was a private venture of the Royal Society's secretary. It was established in 1665, making it the second journ ...

'' (xxv. 2241–6) a description of an

eclipse of the sun A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs approximately every six months, during the eclipse season i ...

which he had observed at

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

on 12 May of that year. He died at Geneva in October 1720, survived by his wife Catherine, daughter of Jean Gassand of Forealquiere in

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

, to whom he was married in 1709. He left no issue.

References

*. ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Fatio, Jean Christophe 17th-century scientists from the Republic of Geneva 17th-century astronomers 18th-century scientists from the Republic of Geneva 18th-century astronomers 17th-century politicians from the Republic of Geneva 18th-century politicians from the Republic of Geneva 1656 births 1720 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society