Adrien-Marie Legendre  (1752-1833)
French mathematician  (knighted in 1811)

The Napoleonic elements of the above picture are courtesy of Arnaud Bunel  (© 1997-2007 A. Bunel)

Per pale: [1] Azure, on a rock issuant from a sea a tower embattled of five pieces, all Argent;
thereon a  fanal  allumé Gules; [2] Sable, a globe beneath a hand holding a compass, all Or.

Armorial de l'Empire Français   by  Alcide Georgel  (1870)

All the truths of mathematics are linked to each other, and all means of discovering them are equally admissible.

The unflattering caricature at left seems to be the only extant portrait of Adrien-Marie Legendre.

Legendre was buried in the cemetery of Auteuil  (57 rue Claude Lorrain; 5^ième division, 4^ième ligne, 6^ième tombe)  just a few yards away from the tomb of a forefather of thermodynamics:  Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford (1753-1814).

The only inscription on Legendre's grave is borne by a restored plaque of white marble which reads: ADRIEN MARIE LEGENDRE OFFICIER DE LA LEGION D'HONNEUR MEMBRE DE L'INSTITUT ET DU BUREAU DES LONGITUDES DES SOCIETES ROYALES DE LONDRES ET D'EDIMBOURG DE LA SOCIETE ITALIENNE, DE L'ACADEMIE AMERICAINE DE BOSTON &C. &C. NE LE 18 SEPTEMBRE 1752, DECEDE A PARIS LE 9 JANVIER 1833 TRANSPORTE A AUTEUIL SELON SES DERNIERES VOLONTES   CONCESSION A PERPETUITE

That plaque spans two graves with no other inscriptions on them.  Although it has been widely reported that Legendre rests next to his devoted widow who survived him for 24 years  (Marguerite-Claudine Couhin, 17??-1856)  the groundkeeper's meticulous records (as of 2010-03-11) indicate that Legendre is buried by himself...  Apparently, one of the two tombs is empty!

Wikipedia (Image by Gretaz)   |   Controversial Portrait   |   Legendre functions

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