Stigler, Stephen M. History of Statistics: The Measurement of Uncertainty before 1900. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1986.
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Treat, Charles F. A History of the Metric Controversy in the United States. National Bureau of Standards, Pub. 345–10. Washington, DC: GPO, 1971.
Turner, Anthony John. From Pleasure and Profit to Science and Security: Etienne Lenoir and the Transformation of Precision Instrument-Making in France, 1760–1830. Cambridge, England: Whipple Museum, 1989.
Wolf, Charles. “Recherches historiques sur les étalons de l’Observatoire.” Annales de chimie et de physique, 5th series, 25 (1882): 5–112.
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INDEX
Page numbers in italics refer to illustrations.
Page numbers from 357 to 395 refer to notes.
Abridged Astronomy (Delambre), 314
Academy of Sciences, 18, 67, 79, 93, 114, 135–36, 142, 174, 184, 233, 315, 334–35, 337, 382
abolition of, 98–99, 109, 116
annual operating costs of, 94, 366
annual prizes of, 81, 82–83
conference for determination of meter called by, 216
Delambre as member of, 9, 21, 186, 190, 201, 264, 302, 374
Delambre as permanent secretary of, 266, 310–11, 313, 314, 316, 319, 320, 384
founding of, 5
hostility to, 13, 94, 96, 99
Lalande as member of, 77, 80
Legendre’s election to, 305
Méchain as member of, 9, 19, 40, 41, 43, 81, 186, 246, 264, 374
meridian expedition and, 13–14, 19, 21, 40, 61, 142
metric reform and, 84, 87, 88
Napoleon as member of, 237–38, 264
Napoleon as president of, 265–66, 384
renaming of, 319
restoration of, 148, 187, 191
accuracy, precision compared with, 299–301, 307
Adams, John Quincy, 4, 326–27
Aeneid (Virgil), 206
Agoustenc, Marc, 216, 377
Aiguillon, Duchesse d’, 40
Airy, George, 388
Alaric, Mont, 196
Albufera marsh, 277, 279, 285
Alembert, Jean Le Rond d’, 33, 78
Alexandria, 242
Almanach des gourmands, 257
Alvarez, Ensign, 48, 56
American Revolution, 30
Amiens, 16, 33, 91, 96, 98, 100–101, 187, 191, 329
Amiens, Treaty of (1802), 267, 314
Ancien Régime, 5, 17, 18–19, 41, 43, 45, 77, 94, 96, 101, 136, 138, 144, 175, 182, 186, 229, 259
diversity of measurement systems used under, 2, 4, 19, 204, 245–55
final repudiation of, 328
“just price” economy of, 132–34, 259
legal privileges renounced, 83
meaning of local measurement systems and units in, 126–34, 128, 195
anthropometric meaning, in old units of measurement, 129–34, 255
Archimedes, 9
Argentina, 331
arpent, 129
Arpheuille, 199
Article of Union, 240
Asia, 244, 339
assignats, 155–56, 182, 185, 191, 352
Assy, Jean-Claude Geoffrey d’, 17, 19, 105, 144, 145, 217
Assy, Madame d’, 71–74, 145
asteroids, 263
astronomic latitude, 297–98
astronomy, 150, 162–63, 210, 212
Delambre’s history of, 319–20, 322–23
Delambre’s study and practice of, 9, 16, 17–18, 22, 147, 148, 151
Lalande’s classic text in, see Astronomy
Méchain’s study and practice of, 9, 18, 19, 40–43, 76, 80, 81, 113, 195,263
“personal equation” and, 307–8
sedentary nature of, 195
as supreme quantitative science, 213–14
women in, 79, 308
Astronomy (Lalande), 17, 18, 80, 81, 83
atheism, 47, 77, 116, 121, 149, 150, 302, 309–310, 342
atmosphere:
composition of, 48
finite nature of, 201
atmospheric refraction:
Bradley’s tables for, 190, 198, 222
latitude measurements affected by, 23, 118–19, 175, 184, 187, 188, 190, 246, 294
aune, 33, 90, 127–28, 128, 351, 256
Austerlitz, 310
Australia, 244
Austria, 333
Austrian army, 64, 97, 105, 165
autumnal equinox, 151
Auvergne, 181, 201, 204, 231
Babbage, Charles, 142
Babeuf, Gracchus, 101, 191
Babylonians, 89
Bacon, Francis, 295
Baeyer, Johann Jakob, 334, 335
balance scale, as symbol of justice, 2
Bâle, Treaty of (1795), 123
Balearic Islands, 59, 232, 250, 362, see also Ibiza, Mallorca
Méchain’s expedition to, 262, 263–89
strategic position of, 267
twelfth-century kingdom of, 274
balloon flight, 78, 309
Banks, Sir Joseph, 315
Barcelona, 39, 47–49, 56, 58, 64, 172, 187, 190, 210, 219, 232, 250, 267, 294–95, 303, 322, 340
description of, 47
French immigrants in, 47
Grande Route to, 46–47, 111, 116
Méchain in, 48–49, 52, 62–63, 65–67, 107–22, 184
Méchain’s isolation in, 109–10, 116, 122
Méchain’s second expedition and, 268–69, 271, 273
at south end of meridian arc, 1, 13, 21, 36, 89, 90, 245, 297
Base du système métrique (Delambre), 319, 326
Academy prize nomination of, 315
conception of, 264
Delambre’s personal copy of, 7, 8, 294
first volume of, 288, 304, 306
as incomplete account, 5
incorrect starting dates given in, 39–41, 322, 359–60
Méchain’s data as presented in, 292–96, 293
presented to Napoleon, 292
revised length of meter suggested in, 303–4
second volume of, 296, 297, 304
third volume of, 296, 303, 304, 306, 333
baseline measurements:
accuracy of, 348
by Delambre, 210, 216–19, 218, 222, 226, 265, 347–48, 349
by Méchain, 196, 216, 275
base-10, see decimal scale, decimal system
base-12, see duodecimal system
Bastille, 140
Batavian Republic, 242, see also Netherlands
“Battery of Blood,” 112
Bayonvilles, 97
Beeckman, Isaac, 88
Belgium, 30, 330–31
bell curves, 307
Belle-Assise, Château de, 12–13, 14, 26–27, 71, 76
Bellegarde, 46, 108–9, 111
Bellet, Benjamin:
background of, 13
as Delambre’s assistant, 13, 27, 34, 70, 96, 101, 102, 114, 153, 157, 189, 205–6, 217, 229–30, 245
salary paid to, 101, 144
Berlin, 77, 333, 334–35, 338
Bézu, Jean-Pierre, 255
Billings, Josh, 342
Blagden, Charles, 241
Blake, William, 181
Blancnez, 44
Bois de Boulogne, 78, 309
Borda, Jean-Charles de, ix, 44, 63, 190, 210, 217, 222, 246, 252, 265
as chairman of Commission of Weights and Measures, 89, 90, 94, 104
death of, 249
Internat
ional Commission and, 237
length of meter as estimated by, 99–100
Méchain’s correspondence with, 197–98
metric commission and, 20, 84
naval career of, 53
at Paris Observatory, 148
purging of, 104, 143
retirement to family estate of, 146
Borda repeating circles, 45, 47–48, 70–71, 94, 107–8, 110, 111, 144, 162, 164, 177, 178, 219, 242, 267
accuracy of, 20, 44, 56, 60, 189, 222, 248, 299, 381
building of, 13, 53, 142, 172, 174, 178
description of, 12, 53–56, 54–55, 61
global mapping and, 244
lightning bolt and, 122, 161
Méchain’s monopolization of, 61–62, 108, 112–13, 167, 271, 280, 298
Oriani’s purchase of, 175, 192
stronger lenses for, 268
threatened seizures of, 28–36, 46, 161
360- and 400-degree versions of, 52–53, 142, 175
used in Franco-British expedition of 1788, 43–45
Bordeaux, 89, 173
Bort-les-Orgues, 202, 203
Boscovich, Roger, 251, 305
Bougainville, Louis-Antoine de, 217
Boulou, 111, 112
Bourbon kings:
of France, 20, 50, 64, 102, 327
of Spain, 48, 50, 64
Bourges, 116, 154, 156, 157, 158, 178, 191, 199
Bourges Cathedral, 154, 155
Bové, José, 228
Bradley refraction tables, 190, 198, 222
Brazil, 331
bread, 100
prices of, 31, 33, 47, 70, 133–34
weighing and selling of, 127, 133–34
Brie, valley of, 12
Brie-Comte-Robert church, 12, 24, 71
Brigham Young University, 7, 353
Brillat and Company, 259
British Commonwealth, 339, 340
Bruyères-le-Châtel, 74, 105, 144, 145, 151, 153–54, 233
Bueno, Augustin, 62, 64, 111, 114, 116, 123
Bugarach, Mont (Pech de Bugarach), 192, 193–94
Bugge, Thomas, 247, 381
bushel, 127, 128, 130
cadil, 131
Cahiers de doléances, 33–34, 84, 126, 212, 215
Cairo, 242
Caladas hot springs, 108
calendar systems:
Gregorian, 139, 140
Revolutionary, 139, 140–41, 151, 152, 315–16, 140, 369
Calon, Etienne-Nicolas, 156, 183, 187, 191, 213
as chief of military cartography, 151–52
dismissal of, 200
Méchain’s correspondence with, 169–70, 172–76, 178, 192, 196
meridian expedition resumed by, 152, 176
Camperdon, 52
Canada, 340–41
Canal du Midi, 211–12
Canellas, Agustín, 272, 277, 278
Canigou, Massif de, 46, 111
cannonballs, 36, 260
Capricornus, 190, 300
Carcassone, 224, 250
Delambre and Méchain’s meeting in, 3, 231–32
Méchain’s correspondence with friends in, 228–29, 236, 250
Méchain’s measurements at, 194, 196, 197, 198, 205–6, 210
Méchain’s stay in, 211–13, 215–16, 377
Caribbean, 92, 238, 244
Carlos IV, King of Spain, 64
Carnot, Lazare, 100, 200
cartography, 20, 22, 42, 112, 151–52, 162, 169, 227–28
Cassel, 97
Cassini, César-François, de Thury (Cassini III), 1740 meridian survey of, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 93, 100, 102, 153, 158, 181, 184, 192, 196, 198, 199, 227, 250
Cassini, Giovani Domenico (Cassini I), 19, 92
Cassini, Jacques (Cassini II), 19, 20, 92, 93
imprisonment of, 147, 148, 170
Cassini, Jean-Dominique de (Cassini IV), ix-x, 39, 42, 43, 44–45, 61, 83, 97, 99, 236, 305
metric reform and science rejected by, 148–49, 223
at Paris Observatory, 146–47
royalist sympathies of, 20, 21–22
service on metric commission refused by, 19–22
Cassini map of France, 14, 19, 20, 57, 93, 147, 215
Castellón de la Plana, 281, 288
Catalan Enlightenment, 47
Catalan language, 50, 195, 274
Catalonia, 45, 114, 181, 189, 246, 274, 331
alternate French and Spanish control of, 50, 57, 64–65, 108–9, 116, 121, 123
conditions in, 51
French consul’s characterization of, 62
in Méchain’s second expedition, 269–70
meridian expedition in, 46–67
Catholic Church and religion, Catholics, 47, 109, 115, 202, 310, 315, 320
celestial sphere, 17
Celsius, Anders, 370
Celts, 202
Central European Geodetic Association, 334
Chaix, José, 269, 271
Châlons-sur-Marne, 36
Champagne, plains of, 11
Charles de Gaulle airport, 25
Châtelet courthouse, 85
Châtillon, Delambre’s observation tower at, 102–3, 105
cheese, 203–4, 228
Chicago Tribune, 344
Chile, 331
China, 339
Chiva, 278
chronometer, 78
church lands, Revolutionary sale of, 25, 155
cinchona tree, 285
circles, decimal scale for, 141–42
Clamecy, 329
cloth, unit for measuring of, 33, 127–28
Collège de France, 17, 79, 80, 149, 309, 314, 319
Collège des Quatre-Nations, 149, 319
Collégiale chapel (Dammartin), 25, 26, 70, 71
Colombia, 331
Columbus, Christopher, 90
comets, 18, 43, 62, 77–78, 81, 162, 184, 263, 362
Commission of Weights and Measures, 36, 87, 153
formation of, 84, 89
length of meter estimated by, 100
platinum metrical standards made by, 253
purging of, 103–5, 109–10, 143, 146, 168–69
salary paid by, 101, 109
Committee of Public Safety, 126, 137, 142, 143, 145, 152, 155, 167
creation of, 75
members of, 100
task of, 100
Compiègne, 17
Concordat of 1802, 310
Condorcet, Marie-Jean-Antoine-Nicolas Caritat de, x, 78, 125, 187, 266, 344, 365
condemnation and suicide of, 142, 170
as Master of the Royal Mint, 136
metric reform and, 84, 85, 88, 93, 136, 142, 317
on metric system, 1
in National Assembly, 142
as Permanent Secretary of the Academy of Sciences, 135–36, 142
Congress, U.S.:
dominated by commercial interests, 240
metric reform and, 3, 238–40, 333, 342
Connaisance des temps, 19, 43
Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers, 332, 337, 382
Constant, Benjamin, 317
Constitution, U.S., 341
constitutional monarchy, France as, 101, 241
“Convention of the Meter” (1875), 336–38
Copernicus, Nicolaus, 78
Coronado, Salvador Ximenez, 269, 276
Corrèze, 329
Corsica, 45–46, 112–13, 165, 175
Costa Bona, 51, 52
Cour-Dieu, 102
Crystal Palace Exhibition (1851), 332
cumul system, 314
currency, paper:
assignats, 155–56, 182, 185, 191, 352
mandats, 191
currency reform, 86, 100, 135, 136, 260, 350, 352
Dagobert, King of France, 27
Dammartin, 12, 24–25, 26, 70, 71, 76
Danton, Georges Jacques, 78
day, Babylonian-derived
vs. decimal-scale units for, 89, 141, 152, 255
décades, 140, 256
decimal point, invention of, 86
decimal scale, decimal system:
for Borda repeating circle, 52–53, 142, 175
chosen for metric system, 86–87
for circles, 141–42
for classifying knowledge, 136
for currency, 86, 100, 135, 136, 260
for units of time, 89, 141, 152, 255
Delambre, Jean-Baptiste-Joseph, ix, 46, 52, 110, 112, 113, 116, 132, 143, 150, 173, 176, 179, 197, 237, 242, 261, 267, 305, 311–15, 318–21, 347–48, 349
as “abbé de Lambre,” 17, 83
in Academy of Sciences, 9, 21, 186, 190, 201, 264, 302, 374
Academy of Sciences prize won by, 82–83
d’Assy family and, 17, 18, 105, 144, 153–54
astronomy studies and career of, 9, 16, 17–18, 22, 76, 80, 81–83, 147, 148, 151
birth of, 16
character of, 17, 22, 82, 219
in cover-up of Méchain’s measuring error, 5–7
death of, 321
derivation of family name of, 16
education of, 16, 302
eulogy for Méchain delivered by, 286–88
eyesight of, 16, 18, 70–71, 189, 312
financial situation of, 17, 101, 154–56, 183, 187, 189, 200–201, 314, 319
godchild of, 98, 310
as humanist, 17, 22, 264–65
International Commission presentation of, 3, 247–48
in latitude measurement contest, 245–46
marriage of, 312
Méchain compared with, 9, 83
Méchain’s papers given to, 285
Méchain’s refusal to share data with, 211, 213, 231–33, 264, 267, 268
Méchain’s relationship with, 83, 184–87, 214–15, 222, 232, 264–66
Méchain’s rendezvous with, 232–33
on meridian expedition, 1, 3, 11–37, 70–76, 96–105, 153–59, 178, 180, 181, 187–91, 198–206, 207, 209, 216–19, 226, 229–30
military rank of, 156
Napoleon and, 264, 265–66, 314–15
as Observatory Professor, 147, 148
official account of origins of metric system of, see Base du système métrique
as official emissary of the Republic, 34
own legacy controlled by, 321
passports of, 13, 28, 70, 76, 96, 97, 144
as Permanent Secretary of Academy of Sciences, 266, 310–11, 313, 314, 316, 319, 320, 384, 389,
physical appearance of, 13, 16, 17
political ambiguity maintained by, 101
as president of Bureau of Longitudes, 265
purged from meridian expedition, 103–5, 109, 125, 144, 168
safe passage issued to, 27–28
scientific character of, 302
as scientific power broker, 314, 319
scientific writings of, 184, 314, 319, 322–23
smallpox suffered by, 16
Thérèse Méchain’s correspondence with, 6, 209, 211, 219–21, 224–26, 265