PIERRE-SIMON LAPLACE

One of the greatest scientists of all time, Laplace worked on calculus, celestial mechanics, and the theory of tides. He also developed probability theory.

• He is born March 23, 1749, in Beaumont-en-Auge, Normandy, the son of a cider merchant
  
• In 1765, Laplace attends Caen University, where his mathematical brilliance shines
  
• Laplace is nineteen when he becomes a professor at the École Militaire, where he is Napoleon’s examiner
  
• In 1796, he publishes Exposition du Système du Monde, his magnum opus on celestial mechanics
  
• Napoleon makes him a count in 1806 and he becomes a marquis in 1817 after the Bourbon restoration
  
• He dies in Paris in 1827 and his brain is put on display in a roving anatomical museum in Britain
  

FROM ALGEBRA TO ASTRONOMY

Laplace also carried out important research into the theory of determinants in algebra and devised a formula to approximate integrals (Laplace’s method).

He developed “Laplace transforms” as a way to convert complex differential equations into an abstract, yet solvable form, and then convert the solutions back to the real world.

In the 1770s, he used the laws of gravity, rotation, and fluid dynamics to explain the Earth’s tides.

Laplace even suggested that there exist stars with gravity so great they cannot emit any light—what we would call a black hole.

PROBABILITY

In Laplace’s seminal work on probability Théorie Analytique des Probabilités, he presented his tools for predicting the probability of events occurring in nature.

Laplace helped to popularize what we now know as Bayesian statistics. He also developed the method of least squares, and provided one of the first proofs of the central limit theorem.