Perrault, pierre (1611–1680)

Pierre Perrault, the founder of scientific hydrology, was the second of five sons, nearly all of whom were destined for illustrious careers. Two are still famous today: Claude (1613–1688) for his plans of the Louvre facade and the building of the Paris Observatory and, above all, Charles (1628–1703) for his Fairy Tales.

Pierre was a lawyer until 1654, when he purchased the office of Receiver-General of Finances for Paris. Louis XIV remitted the account for 10 years, but Perrault had the unfortunate idea of recovering his costs by dipping into the receipts for 1664. Unmasked by Superintendent Colbert, he was obliged to sell his office at a loss and found himself in very straitened circumstances.

He then turned to literature and science – with unequal success. He amused himself by translating a now wholly forgotten work. Tassoni's La Secchia Rapita, from the Italian; and he drafted two dialogues, one a heavy-handed critique of Don Quixote de la Mancha and the other a tedious comparison...