Jean-Sylvain Bailly: Astronomer and First Mayor of Paris

Description

By Fernand Laurent. Boivin et cie, 1927. 457 pages, quarto format, paperbound. Minor wear to lower spine, otherwise pleasant copy. Biography of Jean-Sylvain Bailly, French astronomer and politician (1736-1793), President of the Constituent Assembly during the famous Tennis Court Oath, then Mayor of Paris. Arrested in 1793 and executed. Chapters cover: early scientific vocation, astronomical career, first discoveries, election as perpetual secretary, work at Chaillot, revolutionary period, Constituent Assembly beginnings, Bailly's mayoral tenure, administrative challenges, the Champ de Mars affair, adversity, and revolutionary justice.