Augustin-Jean Fresnel

French engineer and physicist (1788-1827)
Person human Q187241
Augustin-Jean Fresnel
Augustin-Jean Fresnel · Public Domain · Wikimedia
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Summary

Augustin-Jean Fresnel was born on May 10, 1788[1], in Broglie[2]. He died on July 14, 1827[3], in Ville-d'Avray[4]. He worked as a physicist[5], civil engineer[6], and engineer[7]. He ranks in the top 0.71% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (1,816 views/month, #7,141 of 1,000,298).[8]

Key Facts

  • Place of burial: Père Lachaise Cemetery[9], Grave of Fresnel[10]
  • Mother: Augustine Mérimée[11]
  • Country of citizenship: France[12]
  • Field of work: optics[13]
  • Employer: Commission des phares et des autres aides à la navigation[14], Corps of bridges, waters and forests[15], Athénée Royal (Paris)[16]
  • Educated at: École polytechnique[17], Lycée François de Malherbe[18], École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées[19]
  • Notable work: Fresnel lens[20], Fresnel diffraction[21], Fresnel zone[22], Fresnel equations[23], Fresnel integral[24], Fresnel number[25], Coeficientes de Fresnel[26], Mémoire sur la diffraction de la lumière[27]
  • Award received: Rumford Medal[28], Grand prix des sciences mathématiques[29], Foreign Member of the Royal Society[30], 72 names on the Eiffel Tower[31]
  • Member of: Royal Society[32], Société Philomathique de Paris[33], French Academy of Sciences[34]
  • Sex or gender: male[35]
  • Commons category: Augustin Fresnel[36]
  • Cause of death: tuberculosis[37]
  • Residence: France[38]
  • Family name: Fresnel[39]
  • Given name: Augustin[40]
  • Topic's main category: Category:Augustin Fresnel[41]
  • Relative: Léonor Mérimée[42], Anne Louise Moreau[43], Prosper Mérimée[44]
  • Medical condition: tuberculosis[45]
  • Manner of death: natural causes[46]
  • Described by source: Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1969–1978)[47], BEIC Digital Library[48], Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary[49], Granat Encyclopedic Dictionary[50], The Nuttall Encyclopædia[51], Small Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary[52], Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition[53], Physicists: Biographical Dictionary[54]

Body

Works and Contributions

Things named for Augustin-Jean Fresnel include Fresnel lens[55]; Fresnel equations[56], a physical law[57]; Huygens–Fresnel principle[58], a principle[59]; Fresnel zone[60], a scientific theory[61]; Fresnel integral[62], a Wikimedia article covering multiple topics[63]; Fresnel diffraction[64], a scientific theory[65]; Arago spot[66], a phenomenon[67]; and zone plate[68].

Why It Matters

Augustin-Jean Fresnel has Wikipedia articles in 28 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[69] He is known by 24 alternative names across languages and contexts.[70]

He is credited with the discovery of Fresnel lens[71]. Entities named for him include Fresnel lens[55]; Fresnel equations[56], a physical law[57]; Huygens–Fresnel principle[58], a principle[59]; Fresnel zone[60], a scientific theory[61]; Fresnel integral[62], a Wikimedia article covering multiple topics[63]; and Fresnel diffraction[64], a scientific theory[65].

FAQs

Where was Augustin-Jean Fresnel born?

Augustin-Jean Fresnel's place of birth was Broglie[2].

Where did Augustin-Jean Fresnel die?

Augustin-Jean Fresnel died in Ville-d'Avray[4].

Who were Augustin-Jean Fresnel's parents?

Augustin-Jean Fresnel's mother was Augustine Mérimée[11].

What did Augustin-Jean Fresnel do for work?

Augustin-Jean Fresnel worked as a physicist[5], civil engineer[6], and engineer[7].

Where did Augustin-Jean Fresnel go to school?

Augustin-Jean Fresnel was educated at École polytechnique[17], Lycée François de Malherbe[18], and École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées[19].

What awards did Augustin-Jean Fresnel receive?

Honors received include Rumford Medal[28], Grand prix des sciences mathématiques[29], Foreign Member of the Royal Society[30], and 72 names on the Eiffel Tower[31].

What did Augustin-Jean Fresnel discover?

Augustin-Jean Fresnel is credited as discoverer of Fresnel lens[71].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [2] ↑ . MacTutor History of Mathematics archive. Retrieved . wwwold.mathematik.tu-dortmund.de. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  2. [4] ↑ . MacTutor History of Mathematics archive. Retrieved . wwwold.mathematik.tu-dortmund.de. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  3. [35] ↑ . BnF authorities. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  4. [11] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  5. [12] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  6. [17] ↑ . MacTutor History of Mathematics archive. wikidata.org.
  7. [18] ↑ . MacTutor History of Mathematics archive. wikidata.org.
  8. [19] ↑ . MacTutor History of Mathematics archive. Retrieved . wwwold.mathematik.tu-dortmund.de. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  9. [13] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  10. [5] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  11. [6] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  12. [7] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  13. [14] ↑ . MacTutor History of Mathematics archive. wikidata.org.
  14. [15] ↑ . MacTutor History of Mathematics archive. wikidata.org.
  15. [16] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  16. [9] ↑ . Find a Grave. wikidata.org.
  17. [10] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  18. [28] ↑ . royalsociety.org. Retrieved . royalsociety.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  19. [29] ↑ . academie-sciences.fr. Retrieved . academie-sciences.fr. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  20. [30] ↑ . Complete List of Royal Society Fellows 1660-2007. wikidata.org.
  21. [31] ↑ . toureiffel.paris. Retrieved . toureiffel.paris. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  22. [36] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  23. [32] ↑ . makingscience.royalsociety.org. Retrieved . makingscience.royalsociety.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  24. [33] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  25. [34] ↑ . academie-sciences.fr. Retrieved . academie-sciences.fr. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  26. [37] ↑ . wwwold.mathematik.tu-dortmund.de. Retrieved . wwwold.mathematik.tu-dortmund.de. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  27. [38] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  28. [1] ↑ . BnF authorities. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  29. [3] ↑ . BnF authorities. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  30. [39] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  31. [40] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  32. [20] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  33. [21] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  34. [22] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  35. [23] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  36. [24] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  37. [25] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  38. [26] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  39. [27] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  40. [41] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  41. [42] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  42. [43] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  43. [44] ↑ . doi.org. doi.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  44. [45] ↑ . wwwold.mathematik.tu-dortmund.de. Retrieved . wwwold.mathematik.tu-dortmund.de. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  45. [46] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  46. [47] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  47. [48] ↑ . digitale.beic.it. digitale.beic.it. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  48. [49] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  49. [50] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  50. [51] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  51. [52] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  52. [53] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  53. [54] ↑ . wikidata.org.

Inverse relationships (entities pointing at this one)

  1. [71] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [55] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [56] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  4. [58] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  5. [60] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  6. [62] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  7. [64] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  8. [66] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  9. [68] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site

Inline context (facts about related entities)

  1. [57] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [59] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [61] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  4. [63] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  5. [65] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  6. [67] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [8] ↑ . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [69] ↑ . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [70] ↑ . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

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Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 8w ago · Mahirtwofivesix · 2026-08-19 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Babelnet id → 00007166n
    Arabic ontology lexical concept id → 151059682
    "/* wbeditentity-statements-multiple-properties-update:0||4 */ added/modified IDs mapped to WordNet 3.1"
  2. 11w ago · Susmuffin · 2026-07-30 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Harper's tag → augustin-jean-fresnel
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:1||1 */ Harper's tag: augustin-jean-fresnel, Matched to [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/entry/289914456|augustin jean fresnel (#289914456)]] in [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/catalog/"
  3. 14w ago · Nyuhn · 2026-07-10 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14541 → BPc20
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/40849|batch #40849]]: ZGBK ID"
  4. 14w ago · Printstream · 2026-07-04 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14608 → 119032902
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  5. 15w ago · Printstream · 2026-07-01 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14585 → 63770
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ P14585: 63770, #quickstatements; #temporary_batch_1782930557898"
  6. 16w ago · Printstream · 2026-06-25 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14536 → 437495
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ P14536: 437495, #quickstatements; #temporary_batch_1782398664614"
  7. 22w ago · Epìdosis · 2026-05-12 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Local thumb → —
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/30846|batch #30846]]: match CERL IDs on the basis of GND (4)"
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