Abstract
ON July 16, 1739, the death occurred of the French man of science, Charles-Francois de Cisternay du Fay, who though lie wrote memoirs on many subjects and was superintendent of the Jardin des Plantes, is remembered to-day for his electrical experiments and observations. Born in Paris on September 14, 1698, he was an officer in the French Guards, and for a time followed a military career. Ill-health, however, led to his resignation and he then turned to literary and scientific pursuits. He was admitted to the Academy of Sciences in 1733 and contributed papers on geometry, astronomy, mechanics, chemistry and botany. He was especially, interested in the electrical experiments of Stephen Gray, and suspending himself by silk cords, as described by Gray, he observed that when he was electrified, and another person came near, there issued from his body pricking shoots, making a crackling noise. The Abbé Nollet (1700–70) was associated with those experiments, which he afterwards extended. Du Fay also discovered two kinds of electricity which he named the vitreous and resinous, and he made attempts to formulate a theory of electric phenomena. A man of great industry, as superintendent of the Jardin des Plantes he did much to rescue that institution from neglect, and it was through him that Buffon became his successor.
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Bicentenary of Du Fay (1698–1739). Nature 144, 105 (1939). https://doi.org/10.1038/144105b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/144105b0