Dom Jacques Alexandre

Dom Jacques Alexandre

Dom Jacques Alexandre was a learned Benedictine monk of the Congregation of St. Maur, b. at Orléans, France, 24 January, 1653; d. at Bonne-Nouvelle, 23 June, 1734. He made his profession in the abbey of Vendôme, 26 August, 1673, and after completing his philosophical and theological studies, was sent to the monastery of Bonne-Nouvelle, where he spent the remainder of his life.

He died sub-prior of the monastery. Though somewhat delicate in health, he was a man of great industry and all his leisure was devoted to the study of mathematics and physical and mechanical science. He wrote much, though apparently without thought of publication, for most of his writings were merely transcribed into a large folio volume which was preserved in the library of Bonne-Nouvelle.

Alexandre is known chiefly by his two works, Trait du flux et du reflux de la mer and the Traité général des horloges. The former had already been written when the Academy of Bordeaux proposed the cause of the tides as the subject of a prize essay.

He submitted an extract which was deemed worthy of the prize and his success led him to publish the entire work at Paris, 1726. This treatise, based as it is upon the supposed rotation of the earth about the moon, is of interest only from an historical point of view, as a contribution to the solution of a problem which has engaged the attention of the most skilful analysts since the time of Newton. The "Traité général des horloges", Paris, 1734, as its name indicates, is a general treatise on the history and the art of constructing time-pieces.

It contains a catalogue of writers on the subject with a brief account of their principal works. Besides his manuscript works on subjects in mathematics, mechanics, etc., Alexandre added a sixth part to Huygens' treatise "De horologio oscillatorio", in which he describes a clock the length of whose pendulum was automatically varied to enable it to indicate apparent solar instead of mean solar time. A description of the pendulum mechanism, which never came into practical use, may be found in Berthoud's "Essai sur l'horlogerie", Paris, 1786, I, xvii, where some of its defects are pointed out.

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainHerbermann, Charles, ed (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company. 


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Dom Jacques Alexandre —     Dom Jacques Alexandre     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Dom Jacques Alexandre     A learned Benedictine monk of the Congregation of St. Maur, b. at Orléans, France, 24 January, 1653; d. at Bonne Nouvelle, 23 June, 1734. He made his profession in… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Alexandre, Dom Jacques — • Benedictine monk (1653 1734) Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006 …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Jacques Toja — Jacques Camille Toja est un acteur français né à Nice le 1er septembre 1929 et décédé à Neuilly sur Seine le 23 mars 1996. Sociétaire puis administrateur de la Comédie Française, il est surtout connu du grand public pour le rôle du roi… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jacques-René Chirac — Jacques Chirac « Chirac » redirige ici. Pour les autres significations, voir Chirac (homonymie) …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jacques René Chirac — Jacques Chirac « Chirac » redirige ici. Pour les autres significations, voir Chirac (homonymie) …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jacques Villeret — à la cérémonie des Césars 1999. Données clés Nom de naissance Jacky Boufroura Naissance …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jacques chirac — « Chirac » redirige ici. Pour les autres significations, voir Chirac (homonymie) …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jacques Mauclair — Données clés Naissance 12 janvier 1919 Paris, France Nationalité  France Décès 20  …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jacques Weber — en mai 2007. Données clés Naissance 23  …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jacques de Cuers — Jacques Chabert de Cuers Seigneur de Cogolin Surnom Chevalier de Cogolin Naissance vers 1620 Décès 14 novembre 1700 (à 80 ans) à Toulon Origine …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”