Pierre-Simon Laplace

Pierre-Simon Laplace
Pierre-Simon Laplace as chancellor of the Senate under the First French Empire
Born	(1749-03-23)23 March 1749 Beaumont-en-Auge, Normandy, Kingdom of France
Died	5 March 1827(1827-03-05) (aged 77) Paris, Kingdom of France
Alma mater	University of Caen
Known for	Work in celestial mechanics Predicting the existence of black holes[1] Bayesian inference Bayesian probability Laplace's equation Laplacian Laplace transform Inverse Laplace transform Laplace distribution Laplace's demon Young–Laplace equation Laplace number Laplace limit Laplace invariant Laplace principle Laplace's principle of insufficient reason Laplace's method Laplace force Laplace filter Laplace functional Laplacian matrix Laplace motion Laplace plane Laplace pressure Laplace resonance Laplace's spherical harmonics Laplace smoothing Laplace expansion Laplace expansion Laplace-Bayes estimator Laplace–Stieltjes transform Laplace–Runge–Lenz vector Nebular hypothesis
Scientific career
Fields	Astronomy and Mathematics
Institutions	École Militaire (1769–1776)
Academic advisors	Jean d'Alembert Christophe Gadbled Pierre Le Canu
Notable students	Siméon Denis Poisson Napoleon Bonaparte
Minister of the Interior
In office 12 November 1799 – 25 December 1799
Prime Minister	Napoleon Bonaparte (as First Consul)
Preceded by	Nicolas Marie Quinette
Succeeded by	Lucien Bonaparte
Signature

Pierre-Simon, Marquis de Laplace (/ləˈplɑːs/; French: [pjɛʁ simɔ̃ laplas]; 23 March 1749 – 5 March 1827) was a French scholar whose work was important to the development of engineering, mathematics, statistics, physics, astronomy, and philosophy. He summarized and extended the work of his predecessors in his five-volume Mécanique céleste (Celestial Mechanics) (1799–1825). This work translated the geometric study of classical mechanics to one based on calculus, opening up a broader range of problems. Laplace also popularized and further confirmed Sir Isaac Newton's work.^[2] In statistics, the Bayesian interpretation of probability was developed mainly by Laplace.^[3]

Laplace formulated Laplace's equation, and pioneered the Laplace transform which appears in many branches of mathematical physics, a field that he took a leading role in forming. The Laplacian differential operator, widely used in mathematics, is also named after him. He restated and developed the nebular hypothesis of the origin of the Solar System and was one of the first scientists to suggest an idea similar to that of a black hole,^[4] with Stephen Hawking stating that "Laplace essentially predicted the existence of black holes".^[1] He originated Laplace's demon, which is a hypothetical all-predicting intellect. He also refined Newton's calculation of the speed of sound to derive a more accurate measurement.^[5]

Laplace is regarded as one of the greatest scientists of all time. Sometimes referred to as the French Newton or Newton of France, he has been described as possessing a phenomenal natural mathematical faculty superior to that of almost all of his contemporaries.^[6] He was Napoleon's examiner when Napoleon graduated from the École Militaire in Paris in 1785.^[7] Laplace became a count of the Empire in 1806 and was named a marquis in 1817, after the Bourbon Restoration.