Bernard Forest de BelidorDied 8 Sep 1761 (born 1698).French military engineer and civil engineer who made early contributions to engineering mechanics. Some of his many books deal with principles of ballistics and fortifications; others cover hydraulic, civil, and military engineering. His classics became widely-used reference works for a century, full of practical information to architects and builders. The illustrated text gave model specifications, rules and tables to meet their needs, say, for building foundations or arches, and other aspects such as making plans and how to direct labour. He joined Jacques Cassini and Phillippe de la Hire to survey the meridian from Paris to the English Channel. His Architecture hydraulique was the first work of its kind to apply integral calculus to practical problems.«[Image: illustrations of loaded beams from La scienza degli ingegneri, 1729.] |
