Alexis C. Clairaut was a French mathematician and child prodigy born in Paris. He wrote a memoir on geometrical curves that gained him admission to the Paris Academy of Sciences at a young age. Clairaut participated in an expedition that confirmed Newton's theory of the Earth's spherical shape and published a work proving the Earth is flattened at the poles. He created a solution to the three-body problem regarding the motions and positions of three gravitational bodies over time. Though a genius, Clairaut's indulgent lifestyle weakened his health and he died in Paris at age 52.

1. Alexis C. ClairautBy Kristi S. Smith

2. ChildhoodHe was born in Paris, France. His father was a mathematician there. Clairaut was a child prodigy, having written a memoir about geometrical curves.He created a treatise about those curves and used it as his admission into the Paris Academy of Sciences, although he technically wasn’t old enough to attend.

3. AchievementsClairaut participated in an expedition by Maupertuis. This adventure was to confirm that Newton was right about the Earth being a sphere.Théorie de la figure de la Terrewas brought out by Clairaut to prove that the Earth was flattened at the South and North poles.

4. TheoriesHe created a solution to the Three-Body Problem.The Three-Body problem is basically a problem in which you take an initial set of data about the three bodies and then taking that same data to find out the motions and positions of those bodies.

5. FormulasFormula for the acceleration of gravity on the surface of a sphere’s latitude:

6. DeathEven though he was a genius, he let life’s pleasures get the best of him. He went to parties and lavished himself in women.This caused his health to wither, which lead to his death at fifty-two. His final resting place was in Paris, 1765.

7. Works Citedhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexis_Clairauthttp://fabpedigree.com/james/mathmen.htm#Clairauthttp://sfabel.tripod.com/mathematik/database/Clairaut.html