Guillaume Le Gentil

E459104

Guillaume Le Gentil was an 18th-century French astronomer best known for his ill-fated expeditions to observe the transits of Venus.

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Label Occurrences
Guillaume Le Gentil canonical 1

Statements (45)

Predicate Object
instanceOf French astronomer
astronomer
human
aimedToDetermine distance between Earth and Sun (astronomical unit)
associatedWith transit of Venus of 1761 NERFINISHED
transit of Venus of 1769 NERFINISHED
birthDate 1725-09-12
birthPlace Coutances, France NERFINISHED
causeOfNotability scientific expeditions marked by misfortune
contributedTo early catalogues of nebulae
countryOfCitizenship France
deathDate 1792-10-22
deathPlace Paris, France NERFINISHED
employer French Academy of Sciences NERFINISHED
era 18th century
expeditionDestination Philippines NERFINISHED
Pondicherry, India NERFINISHED
Île de France (Mauritius) NERFINISHED
familyName Le Gentil NERFINISHED
fieldOfWork astronomy
fullName Guillaume Joseph Hyacinthe Jean-Baptiste Le Gentil de la Galaisière NERFINISHED
givenName Guillaume NERFINISHED
hasGender male
honouredIn lunar crater Le Gentil NERFINISHED
knownFor attempted measurement of the astronomical unit
ill-fated expeditions to observe the transits of Venus
observations of the transit of Venus
language French
memberOf Académie des Sciences
surface form: French Academy of Sciences
methodologicalContribution participated in parallax measurements using Venus transits
name Guillaume Le Gentil NERFINISHED
nationality French
notableEvent failed to observe the 1761 transit of Venus due to clouds and timing issues at sea
failed to observe the 1769 transit of Venus at Pondicherry due to clouds
remained away from France for more than a decade due to his Venus transit expeditions
returned to France to find he had been declared legally dead
observed nebulae in the constellation Andromeda
nebulae in the constellation Orion
occupation astronomer
participatedIn global campaigns to observe the 1761 transit of Venus
global campaigns to observe the 1769 transit of Venus
religion Roman Catholicism
residence Paris
surface form: Paris, France
studied lunar theory
nebulae

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M32 discoveredBy Guillaume Le Gentil