(May 9, 1746 – July 28, 1818)

Founder of the forte era of French geometers, Gaspard Monge is credited with inventing Descriptive Geometry. However, I must attest that Renaissance artisans like: Leonardo da Vinci and Albrecht Duerer (of Nuremberg) were aware of it. Duerer’s bulletin of 1525 titled Underweysung der Messung mit dem Zirckel und Richtscheyt (i.e. Understanding Measurements with Compass and Straightedge) which dealt with the subject’s rudiments, is over two centuries older than Professor Monge. Still, Monge deserves praises, because he was the first person who used scrupulous mathematics to analyze and consolidate the hitherto artistic theme. He is as well, revered for his pioneering publication on Differential Geometry in 1799. Succeeding scholars tagged him the “Father of Differential Geometry” due to that. But long before those achievements, Monge proved his mettle by becoming teenaged physics tutor. He also explored chemistry, metallurgy and ballistics before opting for a military career. It was while serving in the French Engineering Corps that he revamped descriptive geometry. The importance of his findings was such that France classified them (as top secrets) for more than a decade. Those works helped alleviate many insuperable quandaries encountered in architecture and engineering. Apart from spearheading the founding of the École Polytechnique (at Paris) in 1794, Gaspard Monge collaborated with Antoine Lavoisier, Pierre-Simon Laplace, Adrien-Marie Legendre, and others in inaugurating the Metric System of measurements. In recognition for his contributions, the-then emperor (Napoleon Bonaparte), ennobled him as Count of Péluse. Among Monge’s mentees are illustrious geometers like: Jean-Victor Poncelet, Michel-Floréal Chasles, and Pierre-Charles Dupin.

 

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