Everything about Charles Marie De La Condamine totally explained
Charles Marie de La Condamine (
January 28,
1701 -
February 4,
1774) was a
French explorer,
geographer, and
mathematician.
La Condamine was born in
Paris. He was trained for the military profession, but turned his attention to science and geographical exploration. Before his journey to South America, he he took part in a scientific expedition in the
Levant in 1731.
South America exploration
La Condamine became a member of the
expedition that was sent to
Peru in 1735 to determine the length of a degree of the
meridian in the neighborhood of the
equator; this work laid the basis for the determination of the length of the
meter. The group was led by
Louis Godin and included
Pierre Bouguer,
Antonio de Ulloa, and
Jorge Juan y Santacilia. His associations with his principals were unhappy; the expedition was beset by many difficulties, and finally La Condamine split from the rest and made his way to
Quito separately, discovering
rubber in the process. Insufficient funds prevented La Condamine to return to France directly when he reached Quito. Thus he decided to take the trip down the
Amazon, ultimately reaching
Cayenne. His was the first scientific exploration of the Amazon. He returned to Paris in 1744 and published the results of his measurements and travels with a map of the Amazon in
Mém. de l'Académie des Sciences, 1745 (English translation 1745-1747). This included the first descriptions by a European of the
Casiquiare canal and the
curare arrow poison prepared by the
Amerindians. He also noted the currect use of
quinine to fight
malaria. The journal of his ten-year long voyage to
South America was published in Paris in 1751. However, much of his observations of the Andean region were kept secret by the Spanish, as La Condamine had to submit its reports to the Spanish viceroy before he could leave Quito for his Amazon trip in 1744. These
Noticias Secretas were eventually published in 1826.
Later years
On a visit to
Rome La Condamine made careful measurements of the ancient buildings with a view to a precise determination of the length of the
Roman foot. He also wrote in favour of
inoculation, and on various other subjects, mainly connected with his work in South America. In 1760 he was nominated to the
Academie Francaise. He died in Paris after a hernia operation.
Works
South America
- Journal du voyage fait par ordre du roi à l'équateur (Paris 1751, Supplement 1752)
- Relation abrégée d'un voyage fait dans l'intérieur del'Amérique méridionale (Paris 1759)
- “Mémoire sur quelques anciens monumens du Perou [sic], du tems des Incas”, in: Histoire de l’Académie Royale des Sciences et Belles Lettres II (1746), Berlin 1748, S. 435-456 (hier als PDF
).
Others
- La figure de la terre déterminée (Paris 1749)
- Mesure des trois premiers degrés du méridien dans l'hémisphère australe (Paris 1751)
- Histoire de l'inoculation de la petite vérole (Amsterdam 1773)
Further Information
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