Pierre Bouguer
Born: 16 Feb 1698 in Le
Croisic, France
Died: 15 Aug 1758 in Paris, France
Pierre
Bouguer succeeded
his father Jean Bouguer at the age of 15 as royal professor of hydrography. He
was a scientist who was the first to attempt to measure the density of the Earth
using the deflection of a plumb line due to the attraction of a mountain.
Bouguer,
together with La Condamine, made measurements in
Peru in 1740 publishing his results in La Figure de la terre
(1749). A more successful use of this method by the astronomer Maskeleyne placed
the density between 4.5 and 5.
In mathematics Bouguer studied pursuit curves in 1732. He also wrote on naval maneuvers and navigation and, in ship design, derived a formula for calculating the metacentric radius (a measure of ship stability).