Ismael Boulliau
| Ismaël Bullialdus | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
September 28, 1605 Loudun, Vienne, France |
| Died | November 25, 1694 (aged 89) Abbey St Victor, Paris, France |
| Other names | Ismaël Boulliau, Ismaël Boulliaud, Ismaël Boullian |
| Occupation | Astronomer |
| Known for | Astronomia Philolaica and Republic of Letters correspondences |
Ismaël Bullialdus (French: [bylialdys]; born Ismaël Boulliau, pronounced: [buljo]; 1605–1694) was a famous astronomer and mathematician during the seventeenth century. He published several books, and was an active member of the Republic of Letters, a scholarly exchange of ideas during the 17th and 18th centuries. He is most well known for his work in astronomy, and his most famous work is his book titled Astronomia Philolaica.
An early defender of the ideas of Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo, Ismael Bullialdus is known today as "the most noted astronomer of his generation". He was also known for his mathematical works and his active involvement in the Republic of Letters as a historian, classical scholar and philologist.
Ismael Bullialdus was the second-born to his two Calvinist parents. His older brother was originally named after their father Ismael, but only lived to the age of three and therefore his parents gave him, their second-born, and only surviving child, the father's name. His parents were Susanna Motet and Ismael Bullialdus; his father was a notary by profession and an amateur astronomer who made observations in Loudun, France.
At the age of 21 Bullialdus converted to Roman Catholicism and by the age of 26 he was ordained. One year later, in 1632, he moved to Paris. Enjoying the patronage of the de Thou family, Bullialdus worked for thirty years in Paris as a librarian associated with the brothers Pierre and Jacques Dupuy who were working on the Bibliothèque du Roi (Bibliothe), France's first royal library. After the death of his employers, the brothers Dupuy, Bullialdus became secretary to the French ambassador of Holland. After a dispute with him in 1666, however, he once again moved, this time to the Collège de Laon where he worked again as a librarian. Bullialdus published his first work "De Natura Lucis" in 1638, which he followed with many more published works ranging from books to published correspondence during his time involved with the Republic of Letters.He was one of the earliest members to be elected as a foreign associate into the Royal Society of London on April 4, 1667, only seven years after the Society was founded. He spent the last five years of his life in the same occupation in which he started his career, as a priest. He retired to the Abbey St. Victor in Paris, and died there at the age of 89.
Bullialdus was an active member of the Republic of Letters, the long-distance correspondence of many different intellectuals or philosophes as they were called in France, during the 17th and 18th centuries. The Republic emerged as an international community of self-proclaimed scholars and literary figures which consisted mostly of men. The intellectuals exchanged hand-written letters, published papers and pamphlets, and thought it as their duty to bring others to the Republic by expanding correspondence.
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