Émilie du Châtelet

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Image:Emilieduchatelet.jpg (December 17, 1706 – September 10, 1749) was a French mathematician, physicist, and author. She researched the science of fire, publishing in 1737 a paper which foresaw what is today known as infra-red radiation and the nature of light. Her book Institutions de Physique (“Lessons in Physics”) appeared in 1740; it was presented as a review of new ideas in science and philosophy to be studied by her thirteen-year-old son, but it incorporated and sought to reconcile complex ideas from the leading thinkers of the time. In the year of her death she completed the work regarded as her outstanding achievement: her translation into French, with her own commentary, of Newton’s celebrated Principia Mathematica, including her derivation from its principles of mechanics the notion of conservation of energy. Today this is still the standard translation of the work into French.

1 Early life
2 Marriage and liaisons
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Early life

Her father was Louis Nicolas le Tonnelier de Breteuil, the Principal Secretary and Introducer of Ambassadors to Louis XIV, whose position placed him at the center of social activity in the court, and thus gave the family great status. Her mother, Gabrielle Anne de Froulay, was brought up in a convent.

Émilie de Breteuil was a rather awkward child, and so she was given lessons in fencing, riding, and gymnastics in an attempt to improve her coordination. She was remarkably well educated for the time, and by the age of twelve she was fluent in Latin, Italian, Greek and German. She received education in mathematics, literature, and even science as well. She also liked to dance, was a passable performer on the harpsichord, sang opera, and was an amateur actress.

[edit] Marriage and liaisons

On 20 June 1725 she married the Marquis Florent-Claude du Chastellet, and thus became Marquise du Chastellet (the spelling Châtelet was introduced by Voltaire, and has now become standard). The Marquis was a military man and governor of Semur-en-Auxois in Burgundy. The marriage was arranged and they had little in common, but did not openly fight often. Émilie du Châtelet had three children, and, considering her marital responsibilities fulfilled, she and her husband agreed to live separate lives. In the upper classes of France at the time, it was standard for both the husband and wife to have a lover.

Émilie du Châtelet had three love affairs before she met Voltaire. At the age of twenty-four, she had an affair with the Duc de Richelieu that lasted for a year and a half. The Duc was interested in literature and philosophy, and Châtelet was one of the few women who could converse with him on his own level. She read every book of consequence, attended the theater regularly, and enjoyed intellectual debate. Châtelet expressed an interest in Isaac Newton, and Richelieu encouraged her to take lessons in higher mathematics to better understand his theories.

Châtelet invited Voltaire to live in her country house at Cirey in Lorraine, and she became his long-time companion (under the eyes of her tolerant husband). There she studied physics and mathematics and published scientific articles and translations. Her translation of Newton's Principia Mathematica is still regarded as the standard version in France. Her greatest discovery was the demonstration that the kinetic energy of an object is a function of the square of its velocity.

Moreau de Maupertuis, a member of the Academy of Sciences, became Châtelet's tutor in geometry. He was a mathematician, astronomer and physicist, and supported Newton's theories, which were a topic of hot debate at the Academy.

Châtelet's last affair proved to be fatal. In her early 40s, she had an affair with the Marquis de Saint-Lambert<ref>Agnes Scott bio</ref> and became pregnant. Fraught with premonitions of dying in childbirth, Châtelet bore the child, but died six days later from an embolism at the age of 42.

Voltaire declared that du Châtelet was "a great man whose only fault was being a woman".<ref>[1] The Guardian 11 June 2006.</ref>

[edit] References

Bodanis, David (2006). Passionate Minds: The Great Enlightenment Love Affair, London: Little Brown. ISBN 0316730858.
Ehman, Esther (1986)Madame du Chatelet: Leamington Spa: Berg. ISBN 0907582850.
Mitford, Nancy (1999) Voltaire in Love: New York: Carroll and Graff. ISBN 0786706414.
Zinsser, Judith (2006) Dame d'Esprit: A Biography of the Marquise du Chatelet: New York: Viking. ISBN 0670038008.
Zinsser, Judith and Hayes, Julie (eds) (2006) Emelie du Chatelet: Rewriting Enlightenment Philosophy and Science: Oxford: Voltaire Foundation. ISBN 0729408728.
Online essay from Public Broadcast Service
Encylopædia Britannica 1998 edition
The Guardian 15 May 2006: The scientist that history forgot
Guardian Unlimited: The scientist whom history forgot