Monge, Gaspard, comte de Péluse

Monge, Gaspard, comte de Péluse (gäspär` môNzh kôNt də pālüz`), 1746–1818, French mathematician, physicist, and public official. He was distinguished for his geometrical research, which laid the foundations of modern descriptive geometry, a field essential to mechanical drawing and architectural drawing. He also made important contributions to differential geometry and inspired his pupils, who included J. B. Biot, J. V. Poncelet, and C. Dupin, to new advances in several branches of geometry. He was professor of mathematics (1768) and of physics (1771) at Mézières. One of the founders of the École polytechnique, he served there as professor of descriptive geometry. From 1792 to 1793 he was minister of marine. He was a close and loyal friend of Napoleon and was stripped of all his honors and positions following the restoration of the monarchy in 1815. He wrote Feuilles d'analyse appliquée à la géometrie (1795) and Géometrie descriptive (1799).