Biot
JEAN BAPTISTE, a French physicist and astronomer, born in Paris, April 21, 1774. He entered the artillery, but forsook the service for science, and, in 1880, became Professor of Physics in the Collège de France. Along with Arago he was (1806) sent to Spain to carry out the measuring of a degree of the meridian, and, in 1817, he visited England, and went as far N. as the Shetland Islands, in order to make observations along the line of the British arc of meridian. His most valuable contributions to science are on the polarization of light, for which he received the Rumford gold medal in 1840. On astronomy he wrote: "Researches into Ancient nese_Astronomy" (1840), and "Studies in Indian Astronomy" (1862). His works on physics are "Elementary Treatise on Physical Astronomy" (1841- 1857). In 1849 Biot was made a commander of the Legion of Honor; he was also a member of the French Academy.
He died in Paris, Feb. 3, 1862.