Édouard Biot
| Édouard Biot | |
|---|---|
| Born |
July 2, 1803 Paris, France |
| Died | March 12, 1850 (aged 46) Paris, France |
| Nationality | French |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Engineering, sinology |
| Academic advisors | Stanislas Julien |
Édouard Constant Biot (French: [bjo]; July 2, 1803 – March 12, 1850) was a French engineer and Sinologist. As an engineer, he participated in the construction of the second line of French railway between Lyon and St Etienne, and as a Sinologist, published a large body of work, the result of a "knowledge rarely combined."
Son of the mathematician and physicist Jean-Baptiste Biot, he studied classics and mathematics as a free student at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris. Admitted in 1822 to the École Polytechnique, he chose not to enter and pursue his studies alone. In 1825 and 1826, he accompanied his father as an assistant on scientific expeditions to Italy, Illyria and Spain.
Back in France, with desire to ensure his independence, he began a career in the emerging railway industry. In 1827, after a preparatory trip to England, he joined forces with Marc Seguin in the construction of the Lyon–Saint-Etienne railway, whose concession is granted to "MM. Seguin brothers, Édouard Biot and Company. "He worked as an engineer for nearly seven years, using his father's calculations for the levelling of the line.
When this project was completed in 1833, he decided to enjoy the independence he had gained to study the Chinese language and literature. He attended courses at the school of Stanislas Julien of the Collège de France and soon began a new career. An extensive series of papers, devoted to astronomy, mathematics, geography, history, social life and administration of China, led to his being elected a Fellow of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres in 1847, having already joined the Asiatic Societies of Paris and London, and several other learned societies. His astronomical translations were useful in associating the Crab Nebula with a supernova observed by the Chinese in 1054.
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