1774-1862

French Physicist

Jean Baptiste Biot is perhaps best described as a polymath who made important contributions to acoustics, optics, and electromagnetic theory during a career that also included significant work in astronomy, geodesy, and many other fields. In 1803 he helped confirm that meteorites are of extraterrestrial origin, and in 1804 made a balloon ascent with French physicist and chemist Joseph Gay-Lussac (1778-1850). In 1856, in recognition of his writings on several subjects, Biot was elected to the Academie Française, an honor quite rare for a scientist. A dominant figure within the French university system, he was among the first to recognize and encourage the young Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) in his scientific career.

Biot was born the son of a treasury official, the first in his family to rise from the peasantry to a position of social standing. He served in the army during the...