Jean-Louis Calandrini

Who was Jean-Louis Calandrini?

Jean-Louis Calandrini was a Swiss scientist. He was a professor of mathematics and philosophy. He was the author of some studies on the aurora borealis, comets, and the effects of lightning, as well as of an important but unpublished work on flat and spherical trigonometry. He also wrote a commentary on the Principia of Isaac Newton, for which he wrote approximately one hundred footnotes.

The genus Calandrinia was named after him.

His father was a pastor, also named Jean-Louis, and his mother was Michée Du Pan. He is the grandnephew of Bénédict Calandrini. In 1729, he married Renée Lullin. At the Academy of Geneva, he obtained his thesis in physics. In 1724, Calandrini was named mathematics professor at the same time as Gabriel Cramer, but he first undertook a three year journey to France and England. He was appointed professor of philosophy from 1734 to 1750. He also played an active role on the political scene of Geneva.