Jean Le Rond d'Alembert
Nouvelles experiences sur la résistance des fluides.
Prior to editing and writing for the Encyclopédie, d’Alembert was widely recognized for his contributions to science and mathematics. In this work, d’Alembert applies Newtonian mechanics to fluids. His work concerning the resistance of fluids remains relevant, lending his name to a mathematical paradox relating to the fluid effects of drag. D’Alembert’s paradox is still taught in relation to modern fluid dynamics. His name is also associated with other mathematical concepts including an operator, equation, principle, formula, and system.
Jean Le Rond d'Alembert (1717-1783)
Nouvelles experiences sur la résistance des fluides.
Paris: C.A. Jombert, 1777.
Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Throughout his life, d’Alembert was recognized by numerous scholarly societies for his contributions to science and mathematics. In addition to being a member of the Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences, the Royal Society of London, and the French Académie des sciences, d’Alembert was also named as a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1781. As the American Academy was founded in 1780, d’Alembert was one of the first people to receive this honor, with only seventeen other European members. Other notable contemporary members of the American Academy included future Presidents George Washington and John Adams, John Hancock, and Benjamin Franklin.
Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Boston: American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1781.
