URBAIN JEAN JOSEPH LEVERRIER Biography - Famous Scientists

 
 

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URBAIN JEAN JOSEPH LEVERRIER

Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier (March 11, 1811 - September 23, 1877) was a French 
mathematician who specialized in celestial mechanics and is best known for his   
part in the discovery of Neptune.                                                 
                                                                                 
Le Verrier was born in Saint-L, France, and studied at the Ecole Polytechnique.   
Following a brief period studying chemistry under Gay-Lussac, Le Verrier         
switched to astronomy, particularly celestial mechanics. He accepted a job at     
the Paris Observatory, where he spent most of his professional life, and         
eventually became that institution's Director.                                   
                                                                                 
Honours                                                                           
                                                                                 
Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society - 1868 and 1876                     
                                                                                 
Namesake of Craters on the Moon and Mars, a ring of Neptune, and the asteroid     
1997 Leverrier                                                                   
                                                                                 
One of the 72 names engraved on the Eiffel Tower