ASTRONOMER

Pierre Méchain

1744 - 1804

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Pierre François André Méchain (French pronunciation: [pjɛʁ fʁɑ̃swa ɑ̃dʁe meʃɛ̃]; 16 August 1744 – 20 September 1804) was a French astronomer and surveyor who, with Charles Messier, was a major contributor to the early study of deep-sky objects and comets. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Pierre Méchain has received more than 101,149 page views. His biography is available in 40 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 39 in 2019). Pierre Méchain is the 64th most popular astronomer (down from 56th in 2019), the 939th most popular biography from France (down from 916th in 2019) and the 5th most popular French Astronomer.

Pierre Méchain is most famous for his work in measuring the circumference of the Earth. In 1787, he and his colleague Jean-Baptiste Delambre set out to measure the distance between the two cities of Dunkirk and Barcelona. They measured the length of a degree of latitude, and then multiplied that by the number of degrees in a circle, and then multiplied that by the radius of the Earth.

Memorability Metrics

  • 100k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 63.34

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 40

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 11.91

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.23

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among ASTRONOMERS

Among astronomers, Pierre Méchain ranks 64 out of 644. Before him are Antony Hewish, Pieter van Musschenbroek, Henrietta Swan Leavitt, Johann Franz Encke, Simon Marius, and Asaph Hall. After him are Albert Marth, Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve, Abu Hanifa Dinawari, Arthur B. McDonald, Eugene Merle Shoemaker, and John Flamsteed.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1744, Pierre Méchain ranks 6. Before him are Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, Johann Gottfried Herder, Frederick William II of Prussia, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and Mayer Amschel Rothschild. After him are Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg, Abigail Adams, Infanta Maria Josefa of Spain, Prince Charles of Hesse-Kassel, Conrad Moench, and Giacomo Quarenghi. Among people deceased in 1804, Pierre Méchain ranks 7. Before him are Immanuel Kant, Joseph Priestley, Alexander Hamilton, Jacques Necker, Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot, and Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria. After him are Louis Antoine, Duke of Enghien, Wolfgang von Kempelen, Johann Friedrich Gmelin, Princess Carolina of Parma, Jean-Charles Pichegru, and Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo.

Others Born in 1744

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Others Deceased in 1804

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In France

Among people born in France, Pierre Méchain ranks 939 out of 6,770. Before him are Joseph Babinski (1857), Jacques de Vaucanson (1709), Philibert II, Duke of Savoy (1480), François Christophe de Kellermann (1735), Claude Victor-Perrin, Duc de Belluno (1764), and Christian Clavier (1952). After him are Maria Malibran (1808), Carole Bouquet (1957), Jacques Perrin (1941), Philippe de Vitry (1291), Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut (1401), and Martin Bucer (1491).

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Among ASTRONOMERS In France

Among astronomers born in France, Pierre Méchain ranks 5. Before him are Charles Messier (1730), Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille (1713), Jérôme Lalande (1732), and Pierre Janssen (1824). After him are Jacques Cassini (1677), Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc (1580), Jean Picard (1620), Édouard Stephan (1837), Alphonse Borrelly (1842), Auguste Charlois (1864), and Joseph-Nicolas Delisle (1688).

French born Astronomers

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