Perrier, Francois (General)

Francois Perrier was born into a family of Protestants, immigrants from Cévennes . After he studied at the Lyceum of Nimes , after graduating from Saint-Barbé College, in 1853 he entered the Paris Polytechnic School , from where he was released in 1857 as a staff officer.

In 1857 he was promoted to lieutenant , in 1860 - captain, in 1874 - major of the cavalry, in 1879 he received the rank of lieutenant colonel. Since 1887 - Brigadier General.

He made a significant contribution to science. In 1861 he published a paper on the trigonometric junction of France and England . In 1865, his publication on the triangulation of Corsica followed.

Since 1875 he was a member of the Bureau of Longitude .

His scientific activity did not go unnoticed and in 1879 he was placed at the head of the Geodetic Service of the French Army. In 1880, Perrier was sent as a delegate to the Berlin Conference on the Settlement of the New Greek - Turkish Border.

In January of that year, he was elected a member of the French Academy of Sciences .

In 1883, Perrier traveled to Florida for scientific observations of the passage of Venus across the disk of the Sun and successfully completed his tasks.

Perrier's fame in the scientific world increased even more after his triangulation in Algeria .

With the appropriation of the general rank, Perrier was appointed head of the entire Geographical Service of the French Army.

He died in Montpellier on February 20, 1888.

• The name of Francois Perrier is inscribed in a list of 72 names of the most prominent French scientists and engineers of the 18th-19th centuries on the Eiffel Tower .
• Commander of the Legion of Honor .

• Biography of Francois Perrier (Fr.)