Fourier, Joseph, Baron

Fourier, (Jean-Baptiste-) Joseph, Baron

Joseph Fourier, lithograph by Jules Boilly, 1823; in the Academy of Sciences, Paris.

(credit: Giraudon/Art Resource, New York)

(born March 21, 1768, Auxerre, France—died May 16, 1830, Paris) French mathematician and Egyptologist. While an engineer on Napoleon's Egyptian expedition, he conducted (1798–1801) anthropological investigations and wrote the preface to the monumental Description de l'Égypte, whose publication he oversaw (1809–28). In 1808 he was created a baron by Napoleon. In mathematics he is primarily known for his work in heat conduction (1807–22), for his use of the Fourier series to solve differential equations, and for the related concept of the Fourier transform. As a scientist and humanist, he epitomized the spirit of French intellectualism of the Revolutionary era.