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The Early Life of Pierre Duhem
Pierre Maurice Marie Duhem was born in Rue des Jeûneurs, Paris, France, June 10th,1861. He was the eldest of three siblings. His parents, Pierre-Joseph Duhem and Marie-Alexandrine Fabre made sure that he was well educated. Duhem studied grammar, Latin, arithmetic, catechism, and literature. -
The Prussian-Franco War
Pierre Duhem witnessed the Prussian-Franco war and the Paris commune in March 1871. The Duhem's barely escaped the siege of Chateaudun; fleeing to Bordeux. Throughout the war, Pierre wrote letters of his experience and continued his studies in 1872 at Collège Stanislas for ten years. -
Institution of Higher Education
In 1882, Duhem had enrolled at the prestigious Ecole Normale Supérieur. Students could only attend for 3 years, but Duhem was granted 2 more years. He received a license in physics and mathematics in 1883. Duhem was offered to be a biochemist in Louis Pastors laboratory in his final year but decided not to peruse theoretical physics. -
Pierre Duhem's Doctorate
In 1884, Duhem’s thesis, Le Potentiel Thermodynamique Et Ses Applications À La Mécanique Chimique Et À l'Étude Des Phénomènes Électriques, was submitted for a doctorate but was rejected. In 1887, he accepted a job in Faculté des Sciences at Maitre de Conférences. In October 1888, he earned a doctorate for his thesis in mathematics. -
Pierre Duhem's Work
In 1893, Duhem started writing essays of methodology and history of science. He published volumes on hydrodynamics, acoustics, elasticity, physical chemistry, electricity, and magnetism. He theorized that scientific hypothesis cannot be tested alone. https://youtu.be/PvrMfQslyUI. -
Pierre Duhem's Contributions
Duhem contributed to thermodynamics and physical chemistry as the Gibbs–Duhem and Duhem–Margules equations. In 1906, Duhem published, La Théorie Physique, Son Objet Et Sa Structure. This led him to the philosophy and history of science. The 1200 period involved science and he emphasized his claim that the Catholic church had not hindered science. -
The Death of Pierre Duhem
Pierre Duhem died on September 14, 1916, at the age of 55.
