Lalande
JOSEPH JEROME LE- FRANÇAIS DE (lä-longd'), a French astronomer; born in Bourg, Ain, France, July 11, 1732.
Sent to Paris to qualify for an advocate, but turned to the study of astronomy. The Paris Academy sent him to Berlin in 1751 to determine the moon's parallax. He was appointed an astronomer-royal and later professor of astronomy in the College of France, and in 1795 Director of the Paris Observatory. His principal work is "Treatise on Astronomy" (2 vols., 1764). In 1802 he instituted the Lalande prize for the most notable astronomical book or observation of the year. He died in Paris, France, April 4, 1807.