Born:
21 April 1774 in Paris, France
Died: 3 Feb 1862 in Paris, France
Jean-Baptiste
Biot
was educated at the college of Louis-le-grand in Paris, then after
graduating he joined the army in 1793. He was then a pupil at the
Ecole Polytechnique in Paris where Monge realised his potential. There
was an attempted insurrection by the royalists against the Convention
and Biot took part. He was captured by government forces and taken
prisoner. Had it not been for Monge, who could not see someone with
such talents remain in jail, or even die, pleading successfully for
his release his promising career might have ended.
He became Professor
of Mathematics at the Ecole Centrale at Beauvais in 1797. Three years
later he became Professor of Mathematical Physics at the Collège de
France, an appointment which was due to the influence of Laplace.
In 1803 Biot
was elected to the First Class of the Institute. Three years later
he went with Arago to Spain to complete earlier work begun there on
calculating the measure of the arc of the meridian. In 1809 Biot was
appointed Professor of Physical Astronomy at the Faculty of Sciences.
Biot studied
a wide range of mathematical topics, mostly on the applied mathematics
side. He made advances in astronomy, elasticity, electricity and magnetism,
heat and optics on the applied side while, in pure mathematics, he
also did important work in geometry. He collaborated with Arago on
refractive properties of gases.
Biot, together
with Savart, discovered that the intensity of the magnetic field set
up by a current flowing through a wire varies inversely with the distance
from the wire. This is now known as Biot-Savart's Law and is fundamental
to modern electromagnetic theory.
For his work
on the polarisation of light passing through chemical solutions he
was awarded the Rumford Medal of the Royal Society. Another of his
important works was Memoire sur la figure de la terre (1827)
which describes the shape of the Earth.
He tried twice
for the post of Secretary to the Académie des Sciences and to improve
his chances for election to this post he wrote Essai sur l'Histoire
Générale des Sciences pendant la Revolution. However he lost out
in 1822 to Fourier for this post, then again when Fourier died he
applied only to lose to Arago.