John Theophilus Desaguliers (pronounced day-za-güly-ay) (13 March 1683 – 29 February 1744) was a natural philosopher born in France. He was a member of the Royal Society of London beginning 29 July 1714. He was presented with the Royal Society's highest honour, the Copley Medal, in 1734, 1736 and 1741, the 1741 award being for his "discovery of the properties of Electricity". He studied at Oxford, became experimental assistant to Sir Isaac Newton...
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John Theophilus Desaguliers (pronounced day-za-güly-ay) (13 March 1683 – 29 February 1744) was a natural philosopher born in France. He was a member of the Royal Society of London beginning 29 July 1714. He was presented with the Royal Society's highest honour, the Copley Medal, in 1734, 1736 and 1741, the 1741 award being for his "discovery of the properties of Electricity". He studied at Oxford, became experimental assistant to Sir Isaac Newton, and later popularized Newtonian theories and their practical applications. He has been credited as the inventor of the planetarium, on the basis of some plans he published.
Born in La Rochelle, Desaguliers was an immigrant to England from France. He was born into a Huguenot (Protestant) family and fled to England at the age of 11 (1694) to escape the consequences of the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, and succeeded Dr. Keill in reading lectures on experimental philosophy at Hart Hall. He was the...
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