Philippe de La Hire (or Lahire or Phillipe de La Hire) (
March 18, 1640 —
April 21,
1718), was a
French mathematician and
astronomer. According to
Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle he was an "academy unto himself".He was born in
Paris, the son of
Laurent de La Hire, a distinguished artist. In 1660, he moved to
Rome to study painting. Upon his return to Paris, he began to study science and showed an aptitude for mathematics. He became a member of
French Academy of Sciences in 1678, and subsequently became active as an astronomer, calculating tables of the movements of the Sun, Moon, and planets. From 1679–1682 he made several observations and measurements of the French coastline, and in 1683 aided in mapping France by extending the
Paris meridian to the north. In 1683 La Hire assumed the chair of mathematics at the
Collège Royale. From 1687 onwards he taught at the Académie d’architecture.
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