François-Napoléon-Marie Moigno known as Abbé Moigno (b. at Guéméné, Morbihan

Morbihan

Morbihan is a department in Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Morbihan , the enclosed sea that is the principal feature of the coastline.-History:...

, 15 April 1804; d. at Saint-Denis

Saint-Denis

Saint-Denis is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Saint-Denis is a sous-préfecture of the Seine-Saint-Denis département, being the seat of the Arrondissement of Saint-Denis....

, Seine

Seine

The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...

, 14 July 1884) was a French Jesuit
physicist and author. He considered himself a student of Cauchy.

Life

He received his early education at the Jesuit college at Sainte-Anne d'Auray and entered the novitiate of the order 2 September 1822. He made his theological studies at Montrouge

Montrouge

Montrouge is a commune in the southern Parisian suburbs, located from the center of Paris, France. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe...

, devoting his leisure to mathematics and physics.

On the outbreak of the Revolution of 1830

Revolution of 1830

The Revolution of 1830 can be:* The July Revolution in France leading to a constitutional monarchy lasting until the revolutions of 1848* The Belgian Revolution in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands leading to the creation of Belgium...

, he left with his fellow-Jesuits for Brieg

Brieg

Brieg may refer to:* Brzeg , in Silesia, Poland** Duchy of Brzeg, a duchy of Silesia from 1311 – 1675* Briec , a town in Brittany...

 in Switzerland. Here he acquired several languages, including Hebrew and Arabic. In 1836 he was appointed professor of mathematics at the college of Ste-Geneviève, Rue des Postes, in Paris. Here he became known not only as a scholar, but also as a preacher and writer. He wrote numerous articles for the press; he was engaged on one of his best known works, "Leçons de calcul différentiel et de calcul intégral", based chiefly on Cauchy's methods, and had already published the first volume, when he left the Jesuit Order in 1843.

Shortly afterwards he undertook a tour of Europe, contributing numerous letters to the journal "L'Epoque". He acted as chaplain of the Lycée Louis-le-Grand from 1848 to 1851. He became scientific editor of the "Presse" in 1850 and of the "Pays" in 1851 and in 1852 founded the scientific journal "Cosmos". In 1862 he founded "Les Mondes" and became associated with the clergy of St-Germain des Prés. In 1873 he was appointed one of the canons of the chapter of Saint-Denis.

Works

Moigno was a prolific writer, an expositor of science rather than an original investigator. He also translated numerous English and Italian memoirs on science into French, and edited the "Actualités scientifiques".

Among his works are:

• "Répertoire d'optique moderne" (Paris, 1847–50);
• "Traité de télégraphie électrique" (Paris, 1849);
• "Leçons de mécanique analytique" (Paris, 1868);
• "Saccharimétrie" (Paris, 1869);
• "Optique moléculaire" (Paris, 1873);
• "Les splendeurs de la foi" (Paris, 1879–83);
• "Les livres saints et la science" (Paris, 1884), etc.,

and numerous articles in the "Comptes Rendus", "Revue Scientifique", "Cosmos", etc.