Abstract
ROBERT FEBNAND BERNARD DE MONTESSUS DE BALLOBE, whose death occurred towards the end of 1936, was born at Lyons on May 20, 1870. He belonged to one of the oldest families of Burgundy. His mother was a great-granddaughter of Philibert de Conimerson, the botanist of the Bougainville expedition, his uncle Ferdinand de Montessus was known as an ornithologist, and his elder brother Fernand was a distinguished seismologist who founded an observatory at Santiago in Chile. For a time Robert de Montessus contemplated a military career, but in his late twenties he made up his mind that such a life was incompatible with a streak of independence in his character, and he began to study mathematics at the Sorbonne. In 1903, while still preparing a dissertation for his doctorate, he was invited to Lille by his friend Robert d'Adhémar, himself a distinguished mathematician, and there he was appointed professor of general mathematics in the Faculty of Science.
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VILLAT, H. Count Robert de Montessus de Ballore. Nature 140, 226 (1937). https://doi.org/10.1038/140226a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/140226a0