Translated by: Claudia Netz
Born Paris, France, 28 February 1704
Died Cádiz, Spain, 11 September 1760
The Frenchman Louis Godin is part of the history of astronomy mainly for two activities conducted outside of France. First, he participated in a geodesic expedition that measured the degree in lands of the Viceroyalty of Peru; second, he was director of the Academy of the Marine Guard of the Kingdom of Spain, in Cádiz, and of its astronomical observatory.
The son of François Godin and Elisabeth Charron, Godin studied astronomy with Joseph Delisle , at the Royal College of Paris. He was selected as a member of the Academy of Sciences without having published anything in 1725. His astronomical and literary career started in the academy by publishing minor works until the institution made him editor of the previously unedited Mémoires de l’Académie des sciences, corresponding to the years 1666–1730, which comprise seven volumes. From 1730, up to the volume for 1735, Godin was also in...
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Selected References
Grandjean de Fouchy, J. P. “Ëloge de M. Godin.” Histoire de l’Académie de Sciences pour 1760: 181–194.
Lafuente, A. and A. Mazuecos (1877). Los caballeros del punto fijo. Barcelona: Serbal/CSIC.
Lafuente, A., and M. Sellés (1988). El observatorio de Cádiz (1753–1831). Madrid: Ministerio de Defensa.
Ten Ros, A. E. (1988). “Ciencia e ilustración en la Universidad de Lima.” Asclepio 40: 187–221.
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Ten, A.E. (2014). Godin, Louis. In: Hockey, T., et al. Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9917-7_524
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