PHYSICIST

Augustin-Jean Fresnel

1788 - 1827

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Augustin-Jean Fresnel (10 May 1788 – 14 July 1827) was a French civil engineer and physicist whose research in optics led to the almost unanimous acceptance of the wave theory of light, excluding any remnant of Newton's corpuscular theory, from the late 1830s  until the end of the 19th century. He is perhaps better known for inventing the catadioptric (reflective/refractive) Fresnel lens and for pioneering the use of "stepped" lenses to extend the visibility of lighthouses, saving countless lives at sea. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Augustin-Jean Fresnel has received more than 561,285 page views. His biography is available in 64 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 60 in 2019). Augustin-Jean Fresnel is the 138th most popular physicist (down from 109th in 2019), the 589th most popular biography from France (down from 529th in 2019) and the 17th most popular French Physicist.

Augustin-Jean Fresnel is most famous for his work in optics, which led to the invention of the Fresnel lens.

Memorability Metrics

  • 560k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 66.85

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 64

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 8.68

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.86

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among PHYSICISTS

Among physicists, Augustin-Jean Fresnel ranks 138 out of 851. Before him are Laura Bassi, Felix Bloch, Walther Bothe, Hideki Yukawa, William Henry Bragg, and Peter Grünberg. After him are Rudolf Mössbauer, George Paget Thomson, Donald A. Glaser, Auguste Piccard, Kip Thorne, and Jacques Charles.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1788, Augustin-Jean Fresnel ranks 4. Before him are Lord Byron, Arthur Schopenhauer, and Sarah Baartman. After him are Princess Augusta of Bavaria, Infante Carlos, Count of Molina, Jean-Victor Poncelet, Christian Jürgensen Thomsen, Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff, Princess Wilhelmine of Baden, Archduke Rudolf of Austria, and Étienne Cabet. Among people deceased in 1827, Augustin-Jean Fresnel ranks 7. Before him are Ludwig van Beethoven, Alessandro Volta, Pierre-Simon Laplace, Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, William Blake, and Frederick Augustus I of Saxony. After him are Wilhelm Hauff, Maria Theresa of Austria, George Canning, Ugo Foscolo, Ernst Chladni, and Samuel Crompton.

Others Born in 1788

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Others Deceased in 1827

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In France

Among people born in France, Augustin-Jean Fresnel ranks 589 out of 6,770. Before him are Maurice Jarre (1924), Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (1627), Henri Barbusse (1873), René Lacoste (1904), Gérard de Nerval (1808), and Joseph Proust (1754). After him are Roger Garaudy (1913), Margaret of Anjou (1430), Françoise Hardy (1944), Antipope Clement VII (1342), Jean-Jacques Annaud (1943), and Lazare Carnot (1753).

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Among PHYSICISTS In France

Among physicists born in France, Augustin-Jean Fresnel ranks 17. Before him are Jean Baptiste Perrin (1870), François Arago (1786), Alfred Kastler (1902), Jean-Baptiste Biot (1774), Hippolyte Fizeau (1819), and Paul Langevin (1872). After him are Jacques Charles (1763), Albert Fert (1938), Benoît Paul Émile Clapeyron (1799), Louis Néel (1904), Alain Aspect (1947), and Edme Mariotte (1620).

French born Physicists

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