Today’s (December 17, 2021) Doodle celebrates the 315th birthday of French mathematician, physicist, translator, and philosopher Émilie du Châtelet, whose contributions to Newtonian theory and mission to make scientific literature more accessible helped clear the path for modern physics.
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Doodles are the fun, surprising, and sometimes spontaneous changes that are made to the Google logo to celebrate holidays, anniversaries, and the lives of famous artists, pioneers, and scientists.
Gabrielle Émilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil, Marquise du Châtelet was born on 17 December 1706 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.
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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.
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