Name Marie-Jeanne Lalande Died 1832 | Role Astronomer | |
Marie-Jeanne-Amelie Le Francais de Lalande, born Harlay (1768–1832), was a French astronomer and mathematician.
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Biography
She was the illegitimate daughter of astronomer Joseph Jerome de Lalande (1732-1807). She married her father's cousin, also an astronomer, Michel Le Francais de Lalande (1776-1839) in 1788.
Her father taught the young couple calculation and observation methods in astronomy.
She worked closely alongside her father and contributed to many of his publications.
Her reputation as a scientific women is attested by an anecdote related to Carl Friedrich Gauss: In 1806, during a military campaign in Prussia, he declared he knew but one French woman that worked in Science, Madame Le Francois de Lalande"
She died in 1832 at the age of 64. Her daughter, Caroline was named after Caroline Herschel, her birth date, 20 January 1790 being the first day a Comet discovered by Herschel was visible from Peris. Her son was named after Isaac Newton.
Work
She calculated the Tables horaires de marine, which was published in her father's Abgrege de navigation historique theorique et pratique avec tables horaires (1793). These calculations owed her father one of the medals of the Lycee des Arts for distinguished scholars and artists.
Her work is also published in her father's annual almanac from 1794 to 1806.
In 1799, she establishes a catalogue of 10 000 stars.
In 1791, her expertise in astronomy owes her the privilege of guiding son of famous astronomer Jean Dominique Cassini, through his first observation at the College de France.
She also collaborated to the writing of l'Histoire celeste francaise written by Lalande and published in 1801. The work indicates the position of 50,000 stars.
De Lalande (crater) was named after her.