Alexis Clairaut was born in Paris on May 13, 1713. He belongs to the small group of exceptional children. He survived all the odds (as the only survivor of the 20 children born from Jean Baptist Clairaut and Catherine Petit) and became one of the leading mathematician of his period.. Home schooled by his father a prominent mathematician, Clairaut 's first reading book was the Euclid's Elements. He submitted to the French Academy at the age of 13; his first mathematical work Quatre problèmes sur de nouvelles courbes made him one of the youngest in 1726 to reach such level. In collaboration with Marquise du Chatelet, Clairaut translated The Newton's Principia into French, adding his own theories to the book. From 20 April 1726 to 20 August 1727, Clairaut took part to an expedition to Lapland to measure a degree of longitude. From this expedition He published Théorie de la figure de la Terre. This book confirmed the belief that the Earth was flattened at the poles. The book was a theoretical study to support the experimental data on the shape of the Earth which the expedition to Lapland had gathered.
Contributions to Mathematic and Geometry
Among his mathematical publications let mention Sur Quelque Question de Maximis and Minimis( Treatise of Maxima and Minima) which is one of his study on Calculus of variation. Clairaut proved the existence of the integrating factors. and Théorie de la figure de la Terre.
Clairaut's Axiom
His axiom was “Rectangles exist.” Short and to the point, Clairaut’s axiom falls into the same category as other attempts to replace Euclid V. His axiom may be more easily accepted by one’s common sense due to the fact that rectangles are all around us. His axiom is like many others logically equivalent to Euclid V, and therefore no more acceptable in actuality. The point which becomes clear after seeing several of these proofs is that any attempt to prove Euclid V or its equivalents is an attempt to disprove hyperbolic geometry.
Clairaut's Death
His growing popularity in society hindered his scientific work: `invited everywhere,'' says Bossuet, ``à des soupers, à des veilles, entraîné par un goût vif pour les femmes, voulant allier le plaisir à ses travaux ordinaires, il perdit le repos, la santé, enfin la vie à l'âge de cinquante-deux ans.'' Translate Passion for women, lack of rest destroyed his health. He Died at 52 after a brief illness and on top of his game.