Pierre Petit
Pierre Petit (8 December 1594 – 20 August 1677) was a French astronomer, physicist, mathematician and instrument maker. • Illustration — Dissertations académiques sur la nature, 1671 Petit was born in Montluçon, Bourbonnais, France. He succeeded his father in his municipal office (Contrôleur de l'élection), but went to Paris in 1633 to dedicate himself to the sciences. He was a member of the circle around Marin Mersenne, and knew Etienne Pascal, Blaise Pascal, and René Descartes.
Also recorded as Pierre Petit-Bourbon · Pierre Petit Bourbon
Pierre Petit
Pierre Petit · The Cleveland Museum of Art · James Parmelee Fund · CC0
- Born
- 1594 · Montluçon.
- Died
- 1677 · Lagny-sur-Marne.
- Nationality
- Kingdom of France · France
- Occupation
- astronomer · physicist · mathematician · engineer · geographer · cartographer
- Honours
- Foreign Member of the Royal Society
- Languages
- French
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Pierre Petit (8 December 1594 – 20 August 1677) was a French astronomer, physicist, mathematician and instrument maker. • Illustration — Dissertations académiques sur la nature, 1671 Petit was born in Montluçon, Bourbonnais, France. He succeeded his father in his municipal office (Contrôleur de l'élection), but went to Paris in 1633 to dedicate himself to the sciences. He was a member of the circle around Marin Mersenne, and knew Etienne Pascal, Blaise Pascal, and René Descartes.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Pierre Petit. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q3386576
In this article
Biography
Biography
Born at Montluçon in 1594, died in Lagny-sur-Marne in 1677.
The recorded working language is French. Positions recorded include Intendant général de la Couronne. Work by Pierre Petit is recorded in the collections of Het Scheepvaartmuseum. Distinctions recorded are Foreign Member of the Royal Society.
Louis Pasteur. Photogravure after Pierre Petit., by Pierre Petit
Pierre Petit · Wellcome Collection, London · Wellcome Collection
Emile Duclaux. Photograph by Pierre Petit., by Pierre Petit
Pierre Petit · Wellcome Collection, London · Wellcome Collection
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Montluçon.
Birth place
Lagny-sur-Marne.
Death place
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.His birth year is sometimes given as 1598.
- 2.Database of all Royal Society fellows, from About Us at the Royal Society official site
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Maps and atlases
1,180 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Pierre François TardieuAuthor
- Pierre JacotinAuthor
- Pierre M. LapieAuthor
- Pierre MéchainAuthor
- Pierre PeytierAuthor
- Pierre RaffeixAuthor
- Pierre-Henry Gauttier du ParcAuthor
- Pierre-Philippe ChoffardAuthor
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Pierre Petit?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.