author
Charles-Marie de La Condamine
1701–1774
An adventurous French scientist of the Enlightenment, he helped settle a major debate about the shape of the Earth and turned his South American journey into one of the era’s great travel stories. His work blended mathematics, exploration, and vivid firsthand observation.
1 Audiobook
Histoire d'une jeune fille sauvage trouvée dans les bois à l'âge de dix ans
by active 1755 Mme. Hecquet, Charles-Marie de La Condamine
About the author
Born in Paris in 1701, Charles-Marie de La Condamine became known as a mathematician, geographer, and explorer with a taste for ambitious projects. He entered the Académie des sciences while still young and later joined the Académie française, building a reputation as both a man of science and a lively writer.
He is best remembered for joining the 1735 French expedition to what is now Ecuador to measure a degree of latitude at the equator. That work helped confirm that the Earth is slightly flattened at the poles. Afterward, he traveled down the Amazon, producing an important early scientific account of the river and surrounding region and preparing a map based on careful observation.
La Condamine also wrote about natural history and public questions, including the use of inoculation against smallpox. He died in Paris in 1774, leaving behind a life that joined curiosity, endurance, and clear-eyed reporting from some of the most demanding journeys of the eighteenth century.