Dupin, Francois Pierre Charles

Dupin, François Pierre Charles 

Born Oct. 6, 1784, in Varzy, Niévre; died Jan. 18, 1873, in Paris. French geometrician and economist; member of the Academy of Sciences of Paris (1818).

Dupin was trained as a naval engineer. His works are in the field of differential geometry. In one of his theorems (Dupin’s theorem), he proves that planes in an orthogonal system intersect along general lines of curvature; Dupin’s indicatrix (or characteristic curve) permits a visual representation of the degree of curvature of a surface in its various normal sections. In economics, Dupin was a protectionist.

WORKS

Développement de géométrie pourfaire suite à la géométrie pratique de Monge. Paris, 1813.
Application de géométrie et de mécanique à la marine, aux ponts et chaussées. Paris, 1822.

REFERENCE

Stroik, D. Ia. Kratkii ocherk istorii matematiki, 2nd ed. Moscow, 1969. (Translated from German.)