Claude-Louis Navier

Claude-Louis Navier
Bust of Claude Louis Marie Henri Navier at the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées
Born	10 February 1785(1785-02-10) Dijon, France
Died	21 August 1836(1836-08-21) (aged 51) Paris, France
Nationality	France
Fields	Mathematical physics
Institutions	École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées École polytechnique French Academy of Science
Alma mater	École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées
Doctoral advisor	Joseph Fourier
Known for	Navier–Stokes equations

Claude-Louis Navier (10 February 1785 in Dijon – 21 August 1836 in Paris) born Claude Louis Marie Henri Navier (French pronunciation: [klod lwi maʁi ɑ̃ʁi naˈvje]), was a French engineer and physicist who specialized in mechanics.

The Navier–Stokes equations are named after him and George Gabriel Stokes.

Biography

After the death of his father in 1793, Navier's mother left his education in the hands of his uncle Emiland Gauthey, an engineer with the Corps of Bridges and Roads (Corps des Ponts et Chaussées). In 1802, Navier enrolled at the École polytechnique, and in 1804 continued his studies at the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, from which he graduated in 1806. He eventually succeeded his uncle as Inspecteur general at the Corps des Ponts et Chaussées.

He directed the construction of bridges at Choisy, Asnières and Argenteuil in the Department of the Seine, and built a footbridge to the Île de la Cité in Paris.

In 1824, Navier was admitted into the French Academy of Science. In 1830, he took up a professorship at the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, and in the following year succeeded exiled Augustin Louis Cauchy as professor of calculus and mechanics at the École polytechnique.

Contributions

Navier formulated the general theory of elasticity in a mathematically usable form (1821), making it available to the field of construction with sufficient accuracy for the first time. In 1819 he succeeded in determining the zero line of mechanical stress, finally correcting Galileo Galilei's incorrect results, and in 1826 he established the elastic modulus as a property of materials independent of the second moment of area. Navier is therefore often considered to be the founder of modern structural analysis.

His major contribution however remains the Navier–Stokes equations (1822), central to fluid mechanics.

His name is one of the 72 names inscribed on the Eiffel Tower.

External links

• O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Claude-Louis Navier", MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews, http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Navier.html .

Persondata
Name	Navier, Henri
Alternative names	Navier, Claude Louis Marie Henri; Navier, Claude-Louis
Short description	French engineer and physicist
Date of birth	10 February 1785
Place of birth	Dijon, France
Date of death	21 August 1836
Place of death	Paris, France