How did Emilie du Chatelet contribute to the Enlightenment?

Gabrielle Émilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil, Marquise du Châtelet was a French natural philosopher and mathematician during the early 1730s until her death in 1749.

Emilie du Chatelet’s most recognized achievement is her translation of and commentary on Isaac Newton’s 1687 book Principia containing basic laws of physics. The translation, published posthumously in 1756, is still regarded as the standard French translation till today.

Emilie du Chatelet’s philosophical magnum opus, Institutions de Physique (Paris, 1740, first edition), or Foundations of Physics, circulated widely, generated heated debates, and was republished and translated into several other languages within two years of its original publication.

Emilie du Chatelet’s ideas were posthumously heavily represented in the most famous text of the French Enlightenment, the Encyclopédie of Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d’Alembert, first published shortly after her death. Numerous biographies, books and plays have been written about her life and work in the two centuries since her death.

In the early 21st century, Emilie du Chatelet’s life and ideas have generated renewed interest.

How did Emilie du Chatelet contribute to the Enlightenment?

Though Émilie Du Châtelet was married to someone else during her 15-year long relationship with Voltaire, her husband is said not to have minded.

Emilie du Chatelet and Voltaire collaborated on his book about the elements of Newton’s philosophy, which was radical stuff for a France still enamored with Rene Descartes, but she also published her work and was highly regarded for it.

Emilie du Chatelet’s Institutions de physique (1740) and translations of Leibniz’s metaphysics impressed even the crustiest academicians.