Gaspard Monge and the Monge Point of the Tetrahedron
2003; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 76; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/0025570x.2003.11953178
ISSN1930-0980
Autores Tópico(s)Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis
ResumoGaspard Monge (1746-1818) was a man of extraordinary talent. Despite humble origins, he founded one new branch of mathematics, made major early contributions to a second, and became a close friend of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821). Monge was born on May 9 or 10, 1746, in Beaune, France [15, p. 9]. His father, a peddler and later a storekeeper, valued education and saw to the education of his three sons. By age 14, Monge made his exceptional ability evident by independently constructing a fire engine. At the College de la Trinite in Lyon, he so impressed his teachers that they invited him to teach physics at age 16 or 17. In the summer of 1764, at age 18, Monge returned to Beaune. There, having devised his own plans of observation and constructed his own surveying instruments, he created with remarkable skill and care a large-scale map of his hometown. (The original is still at the Beaune library.) Word of this map reached the prestigious Ecole Royale du Genie de Mezieres (Mezieres Royal School of Engineering), and a high-ranking officer there offered Monge a position as a draftsman. Although Monge was unaware that he could not become a student officer because he was a commoner by birth, his decision to accept the offer turned out to be a good one. Monge was politically active, and held several government posts. From 1783 to 1789 he was an examiner of naval cadets, and from August or September 1792 until April 1793 he was Minister of the Navy, a position made difficult by the troubles and failures of the French navy, which made Monge a target of criticism. Shortly after resigning as Minister of the Navy, Monge began supervising armaments factories and writing instruction manuals for the workers. Monge supported the French Revolution, but in the turmoil that developed, many people had unjust accusations leveled against them and were executed. Monge himself was sometimes in danger, and at one point, after being denounced by the porter at his lodgings, he left Paris. In 1796, Napoleon wrote to Monge to offer him his friendship and a position. The two had met when Monge was Minister of the Navy and Napoleon, then a little-known artillery officer, had been impressed by how Monge had treated him. Monge was sent to Italy to obtain artworks for France, and during 1798 and 1799 he accompanied Napoleon on his Egyptian campaign. After establishing the Consulate in 1799, Napoleon named Monge a senator for life.
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