Pierre Duhem Timeline

By Emonigle

  • A scientist is born

    Pierre Maurice Marie Duhem is born to a commercial traveler Pierre-Joseph Duhem and Alexandrine Fabre, becoming the oldest of four children of a Flemish family, though they lived in Paris, France. Being a gifted child, he quickly was labeled a brilliant student and entered College at eleven years old. Duhem had out standing achievements in Latin, Greek, science, mathematics and other subjects before having to choose between two schools for further studies; Ecole Polytechnique and Ecole Normale.

  • Higher Learning

    Defying both his parents, he chooses Ecole Normale, like his mother had wanted. Pierre Duhem did not choose Ecole Normale to study Greek nor Latin like his mother had hoped for him; but instead he elected studying pure science which his mother feared would turn him away from his Roman Catholic beliefs.

  • The beginning of the end

    Duhem began publishing his first paper, even before becoming a licensed mathematician, on thermodynamics potential in physics and chemistry, disputing a theory by a highly respected member of the science community Marcellin Berthelot. This proved to be a career stalling blow, even though he was correct, Berthelot was able to use his position to have Duhems theory rejected. Berthelot went on to become the French Minister of Education and Duhem took a position teaching out of the city of Paris.

  • Scientific history

    Through his research Duhem came across the scientist Jordanus Nemorarius who’s work predated Leonardo da Vinci, which no one at that time believed that science was done during the Middle ages. Duhem changed the scientific theory, finding other scientists, who worked before the development of the Renaissance mechanics.

  • His death but not "the end"

    Duhem died while publishing his final work, only have seeing five of the ten volumes, published before his death. A great segue to what we have been learning can be seen at; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXhVRKh-LLA

  • Works Cited:

    O'Connor, J J, and E F Robertson. “Pierre Maurice Marie Duhem.” Newton Biography, Mar. 2001, www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Duhem.html.
    Ariew, Roger, "Pierre Duhem", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2018 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2018/entries/duhem/.