PHILOSOPHER

Pierre Gassendi

1592 - 1655

Photo of Pierre Gassendi

Icon of person Pierre Gassendi

Pierre Gassendi (French: [pjɛʁ gasɛ̃di]; also Pierre Gassend, Petrus Gassendi, Petrus Gassendus; 22 January 1592 – 24 October 1655) was a French philosopher, Catholic priest, astronomer, and mathematician. While he held a church position in south-east France, he also spent much time in Paris, where he was a leader of a group of free-thinking intellectuals. He was also an active observational scientist, publishing the first data on the transit of Mercury in 1631. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Pierre Gassendi has received more than 354,836 page views. His biography is available in 50 different languages on Wikipedia. Pierre Gassendi is the 191st most popular philosopher (down from 176th in 2019), the 425th most popular biography from France (down from 359th in 2019) and the 24th most popular French Philosopher.

Gassendi is most famous for his atomism. He argued that atoms are the fundamental building blocks of matter and that they are indivisible. He also argued that atoms are not eternal and that they can be created and destroyed.

Memorability Metrics

  • 350k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 68.93

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 50

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 10.77

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.59

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among PHILOSOPHERS

Among philosophers, Pierre Gassendi ranks 191 out of 1,267. Before him are Moses Mendelssohn, Bernard Bolzano, Ibn Tufail, Nicolas Malebranche, Jakob Böhme, and Emmanuel Levinas. After him are Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Baltasar Gracián, Slavoj Žižek, Diotima of Mantinea, Solomon ibn Gabirol, and Melissus of Samos.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1592, Pierre Gassendi ranks 4. Before him are John Amos Comenius, Shah Jahan, and Hong Taiji. After him are Wilhelm Schickard, Gerard van Honthorst, Jacques Callot, George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, Gustav Horn, Count of Pori, Catalina de Erauso, Peter Snayers, and Saib Tabrizi. Among people deceased in 1655, Pierre Gassendi ranks 3. Before him are Pope Innocent X, and Cyrano de Bergerac. After him are Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg, Eleonora Gonzaga, Margaret of Savoy, Vicereine of Portugal, Janusz Radziwiłł, Cristóbal de Morales, Ukita Hideie, Eustache Le Sueur, Daniël Heinsius, and Francesco Molin.

Others Born in 1592

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Others Deceased in 1655

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In France

Among people born in France, Pierre Gassendi ranks 425 out of 6,770. Before him are Nicolas Malebranche (1638), Napoléon, Prince Imperial (1856), Fernand Léger (1881), Émilie du Châtelet (1706), Marc Bloch (1886), and Pauline Bonaparte (1780). After him are Giambologna (1529), Eugène François Vidocq (1775), Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908), Alfred Binet (1857), Jean Dubuffet (1901), and Odilon Redon (1840).

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Among PHILOSOPHERS In France

Among philosophers born in France, Pierre Gassendi ranks 24. Before him are Ernest Renan (1823), Pierre Bayle (1647), Paul Ricœur (1913), Julien Offray de La Mettrie (1709), Marquis de Condorcet (1743), and Nicolas Malebranche (1638). After him are Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908), Étienne Bonnot de Condillac (1714), Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881), Jean-François Lyotard (1924), Gabriel Marcel (1889), and Joseph de Maistre (1753).

French born Philosophers

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