PHYSICIST

Augustin-Jean Fresnel

1788 - 1827

Photo of Augustin-Jean Fresnel

Icon of person Augustin-Jean Fresnel

Augustin-Jean Fresnel (10 May 1788 – 14 July 1827) was a French civil engineer and physicist whose research in optics led to the almost unanimous acceptance of the wave theory of light, excluding any remnant of Newton's corpuscular theory, from the late 1830s  until the end of the 19th century. He is perhaps better known for inventing the catadioptric (reflective/refractive) Fresnel lens and for pioneering the use of "stepped" lenses to extend the visibility of lighthouses, saving countless lives at sea. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Augustin-Jean Fresnel is the 163rd most popular physicist (down from 138th in 2019), the 539th most popular biography from France (up from 589th in 2019) and the 19th most popular French Physicist.

Augustin-Jean Fresnel is most famous for his work in optics, which led to the invention of the Fresnel lens.

Memorability Metrics

Loading...

Page views of Augustin-Jean Fresnel by language

Loading...

Among PHYSICISTS

Among physicists, Augustin-Jean Fresnel ranks 163 out of 851. Before him are Frits Zernike, Felix Bloch, Hans Georg Dehmelt, Johann Jakob Balmer, Joseph Henry, and Hippolyte Fizeau. After him are Georges Charpak, Gerd Binnig, Ernst Abbe, Paul Langevin, Hideki Yukawa, and François Englert.

Most Popular Physicists in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1788, Augustin-Jean Fresnel ranks 4. Before him are Arthur Schopenhauer, Lord Byron, and Sarah Baartman. After him are Archduke Rudolf of Austria, Christian Jürgensen Thomsen, Jean-Victor Poncelet, Ranavalona I, Princess Augusta of Bavaria, Infante Carlos, Count of Molina, Étienne Cabet, and Antoine César Becquerel. Among people deceased in 1827, Augustin-Jean Fresnel ranks 6. Before him are Ludwig van Beethoven, Alessandro Volta, Pierre-Simon Laplace, Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, and William Blake. After him are Frederick Augustus I of Saxony, Maria Theresa of Austria, Wilhelm Hauff, Ugo Foscolo, Samuel Crompton, and Wilhelm Müller.

Others Born in 1788

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Others Deceased in 1827

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

In France

Among people born in France, Augustin-Jean Fresnel ranks 539 out of 6,770. Before him are Marc Bloch (1886), Lucien Bonaparte (1775), William II of England (1056), Emma of Normandy (985), Hippolyte Fizeau (1819), and Joseph Joffre (1852). After him are Anne Robert Jacques Turgot (1727), Louis Aragon (1897), Jean Lannes (1769), John Vianney (1786), André Frédéric Cournand (1895), and Jacques Monod (1910).

Others born in France

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Among PHYSICISTS In France

Among physicists born in France, Augustin-Jean Fresnel ranks 19. Before him are Alfred Kastler (1902), Hans Bethe (1906), Benoît Paul Émile Clapeyron (1799), Louis Néel (1904), Jean-Baptiste Biot (1774), and Hippolyte Fizeau (1819). After him are Paul Langevin (1872), Edmond Becquerel (1820), Edme Mariotte (1620), Jacques Charles (1763), Gérard Mourou (1944), and Pierre-Gilles de Gennes (1932).

French born Physicists

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous