The French physicist Charles Augustin de Coulomb (1736-1806) was famous for establishing the relation for computing the force between electrical charges. He also did pioneering work on sliding and fluid friction.

Charles Augustin de Coulomb was born into a distinguished family of Angoulême on June 14, 1736. After being educated in Paris, he spent 9 years in Martinique as an army engineer. Ill health forced him to return to France in 1776, where during the next 13 years his scientific work brought him fame, military advancement, and membership in the Royal Academy of Sciences. He was appointed intendant of France's waters and fountains in 1784. The next 5 years were spent in writing his memoirs on electricity and magnetism. Coulomb had become a noted and influential figure in the academic world but resigned all his positions at the outbreak of the Revolution. He returned to Paris in 1802 for an appointment as one of...