1698-1761

French Engineer

Bernard Forest de Belidor was a French engineer and professor of artillery at La Fère military academy who wrote some of the best-known and comprehensive engineering manuals in both military and civil engineering. His work influenced the engineering practices in France and other European countries for nearly 100 years after their publication.

Belidor was born in Catalonia, Spain, where his father, Jean-Baptiste, was commanding a dragoon for the French army. Both his father and his mother died within five months of his birth, and his godfather's family raised him. As a child he had a natural aptitude for mathematics and inventing. This flair for the practical application of mathematics secured him an army post to survey the area from Paris to the English Channel. This project was completed in 1718 and covered in a book published by his colleagues Jacques...