, a member of the academies of sciences of Paris and Berlin, was
, a member of the
academies of sciences of Paris and Berlin, was born in Catalonia in 1697. Being left an orphan at the age of five
years, he was educated by an engineer, a friend of his father’s family, and very early discovered a genius for mathematics. In the course of time he was appointed royal
professor of the schools of artillery of la Fere, and superintended the education of some scholars who proved worthy
of him. His success in this situation procured him also
the place of provincial commissary of artillery, but here' his
zeal cost him both places. Having discovered by some
experiments that a smaller quantity of powder was sufficient
to load a cannon than commonly employed: that, for example, eight pounds of powder would produce the same
effect as twelve, which was the usual quantity, he thought
to pay court to the cardinal de Fleury, then prime minister,
by communicating to him in private a scheme by which government might make so important a saving. The cardinal,
who was partial to all schemes of economy, listened with
pleasure to this of Belidor, and spoke of it to the prince
de Dombes, who was master of the ordnance. The prince
was astonished that a mathematician, who served under him,
and on whom he had conferred favours, should not have
communicated this to him, and irritated by what he considered as a mark of disrespect, dismissed him from the
posts he held, and obliged him to leave la Fere. t De Valliere, lieutenant-general of artillery, took upon him on this
occasion to justify the prince’s conduct, in a printed memorial, and endeavoured at the same time to refute
Belidor’s opinion and experiments, with what success we are
not told. Belidor, however, originally born without fortune, was now stripped of the little he had acquired by his
talents, and might probably have remained in poverty, had
not the prince of Conti, who knew his merit, taken him
with him to Italy, and bestowed on him the cross of St.
Lewis, an honour which procured him some notice at court.
The marshal Bellisle engaged him in his service, and when
war-minister, appointed him to the office of inspector of
artillery, and gave him apartments in the arsenal at Paris,
where he died in 1761. During his laborious and checquered life, he found leisure to write, 1. “Sommaire d‘un
cours d’architecture rnilitaire, civil et hydraulique,
” Nouveau cours de Mathematique, a T usage de
I'Artilierie et du Genie,
” 4 to, Paris, 1725, a work previously examined by a committee of the academy of sciences, and approved and recommended by them. 3. “La
Science des ingenieurs,
”. Le Bombardier
Francoise,
” Architecture Hydraulique,
”
Dictionnaire portatif de
l'ingenieur,
” Traite des Fortifications,
” 2
vols. 4to. 9. “La science des Ingenieurs dans la concluite
des travaux des Fortifications,
”