Pierre René Jean Baptiste Henri Brocard | |
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The first page of Henri Brocard's Notes de bibliographie des courbes géométriques.
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Born |
Vignot, Meuse |
12 May 1845
Died | 16 January 1922 Kensington, London, United Kingdom |
(aged 76)
Residence | France |
Nationality | French |
Fields | Mathematics, Meteorology |
Institutions | Military engineer, French army |
Alma mater | École Polytechnique |
Known for |
Meteorology Brocard points Brocard triangle Brocard circle |
Notable awards | Emeritus at the International Academy of Science Officer of the Légion d'honneur |
Signature |
Pierre René Jean Baptiste Henri Brocard (12 May 1845 – 16 January 1922) was a French meteorologist and mathematician, in particular a geometer. His best-known achievement is the invention and discovery of the properties of the Brocard points, the Brocard circle, and the Brocard triangle, all bearing his name.
Contemporary mathematician Nathan Court wrote that he, along with Émile Lemoine and Joseph Neuberg, was one of the three co-founders of modern triangle geometry. He is listed as an Emeritus at the International Academy of Science, was awarded the Ordre des Palmes Académiques, and was an officer of the Légion d'honneur.
He spent most of his life studying meteorology as an officer in the French Navy, but seems to have made no notable original contributions to the subject.
Pierre René Jean Baptiste Henri Brocard was born on 12 May 1845, in Vignot (a part of Commercy), Meuse to Elizabeth Auguste Liouville and Jean Sebastien Brocard. He attended the Lycée in Marseilles as a young child, and then the Lycée in Strasbourg. After graduating from the Lycée he entered the Academy in Strasbourg where he was prepared for the examination for entrance to the prestigious École Polytechnique in Paris, to which he was accepted in 1865.