Fourier, Joseph (1768-1830) -- from Eric Weisstein's World of Scientific Biography (original) (raw)
French mathematician who discovered that any periodic motion can be written as a superposition of sinusoidal and cosinusoidal vibrations. He developed a mathematical theory of heat 
in Théorie Analytique de la Chaleur (Analytic Theory of Heat), (1822), discussing it in terms of differential equations.
Fourier was a friend and advisor of Napoleon. Fourier believed that his health would be improved by wrapping himself up in blankets, and in this state he tripped down the stairs in his house and killed himself. The paper of Galoiswhich he had taken home to read shortly before his death was never recovered.
Additional biographies: MacTutor (St. Andrews), Bonn
© 1996-2007 Eric W. Weisstein