Notre-Dame-des-Champs in Paris in Département de Paris, Île-de-France, France — Western Europe

Jean Bernard Léon Foucault

Photographed by Roger W. Sinnott, October 1, 2019

1. Jean Bernard Léon Foucault Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

Ici s'élevait un hôtel où mourut le 11 février 1868 Jean Bernard Léon Foucault, membre de l'Institut, né à Paris le 19 septembre 1819. C'est dans cet hôtel qu'il réalisa en 1851 la célèbre expérience qui démontre la rotation de la terre par l'observation du pendule.

English translation:
Here stood a hotel where Jean Bernard Léon Foucault died February 11, 1868. He was a member of the Institute [that is, the National Institute of Sciences and Arts], born in Paris September 19, 1819. In this hotel he carried out, in 1851, the celebrated experiment demonstrating the rotation of the Earth by observation of a pendulum.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Science & Medicine. A significant historical year for this entry is 1851.

Location. 48° 50.873′ N, 2° 19.767′ E. Marker is in Paris, Île-de-France, in Département de Paris. It is in Notre-Dame-des-Champs. It is at the intersection of Rue d'Assas and Rue de Vaugirard, on the left when traveling north on Rue d'Assas. Marker is high above ground on the building at the northwest corner of this intersection. Touch for map. Marker is in this post

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office area: Paris, Île-de-France 75006, France. Touch for directions.

Regionally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

Europe,

the European Union,

Atlantic Europe,

the Schengen Area,

Western Europe,

a coastal Mediterranean country,

and the Western World.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once a French colony

and also the Roman Empire.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Gertrude Stein (about 90 meters away, measured in a direct line); Square Boucicaut (1873) (approx. half a kilometer away); Maurice Desrez (approx. half a kilometer away); Henri Beghin (approx. half a kilometer away); Georges Paulin (approx. 0.6 kilometers away); Raymond de la Tailhède (approx. 0.6 kilometers away); Square Ozanam (approx. 0.6 kilometers away); Le Bon Marché (approx. 0.6 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Paris.

Regarding Jean Bernard Léon Foucault. By this experiment in the wee hours of January 8, 1851, Foucault convinced himself that the plane of oscillation of a free-swinging pendulum would slowly rotate owing to the rotation of the Earth — just

View Showing Marker's Frame image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Roger W. Sinnott, October 1, 2019

2. View Showing Marker's Frame

as he'd theorized. The following month he staged a larger-scale demonstration for astronomers at the Paris Observatory. Finally, in March of that year he thrilled huge crowds of Parisians by suspending a lead-filled brass ball from a 220-foot-long wire inside the dome of the Panthéon. An article by Donald W. Olson in the April 2021 issue of The Physics Teacher describes these experiments in more detail.

Additional keywords. Foucault pendulum, Earth's rotation

Building Carrying the Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Roger W. Sinnott, October 1, 2019

3. Building Carrying the Marker

The marker, just to the right of the building's corner, faces Rue d'Assas. Just left of the building's corner, facing Rue de Vaugirard, is an ornate sculpture of a pendulum.

Closeup of the Pendulum Sculpture image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Roger W. Sinnott, October 1, 2019

4. Closeup of the Pendulum Sculpture

Leon Foucault (1819-1868) image. Click for full size.

Unknown

5. Leon Foucault (1819-1868)

Foucault's Pendulum Being Demonstrated in the Panthéon image. Click for full size.

Unknown

6. Foucault's Pendulum Being Demonstrated in the Panthéon

This engraving appeared in the April 5, 1851, issue of the weekly magazine L'Illustration, Journal Universel.

Credits. This page was last revised on January 30, 2023. It was originally submitted on July 28, 2021, by Roger W. Sinnott of Norwell, Massachusetts. This page has been viewed 239 times since then and 15 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on July 28, 2021, by Roger W. Sinnott of Norwell, Massachusetts. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.