André Sainte-Laguë
| André Sainte-Laguë | |
|---|---|
| Born | 20 April 1882 |
| Died | 18 January 1950 (aged 67) |
| Nationality | French |
| Known for | The Sainte-Laguë method for seat allocation |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Graph Theory, Aeronautics, Mathematics |
André Sainte-Laguë (French pronunciation: [ɑ̃.dʀe sɛ̃t.la.ɡy], 20 April 1882 – 18 January 1950) was a French mathematician who was a pioneer in the area of graph theory. His research on seat allocation methods (published in 1910) led to one being named after him, the Sainte-Laguë method. Also named after him is the Sainte-Laguë Index for measuring the proportionality of an electoral outcome.
He is also notable for his informal calculation that supposedly demonstrated that a bumblebee could not fly, referred to in the introduction of 'Le Vol des Insectes' (Hermann and Cle, Paris, 1934) by the entomologist Antoine Magnan. This casual calculation was based on a comparison between an aeroplane and a bee, making the wrong assumption that bees' wings were smooth and flat. He, and others, soon corrected this assumption, but the story of the scientist who demonstrated that bee flight was impossible persists to this day.
He published several popular math texts, including "From the known to the unknown" (foreword by biologist Jean Rostand) which has been translated into several languages.
Born in Casteljaloux (Lot-et-Garonne) in 1882, Sainte-Lague was admitted at once, at the age of 20 years at the Ecole Polytechnique and Ecole Normale Superieure. He chose the latter and became a professor in the provinces, then in Paris. During World War I, having been wounded three times, he was attached to the Department of Inventions of the Normal School from 1917 to 1919, studied long-range artillery shells, and thereafter, the flight of birds and matters relating to aviation (theory test fish).
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