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Special Topics: Jesuits & STEM: Mathematics 🚧

Jean-Charles de la Faille (1597–1652)

Jesuit mathematician who determined the center of gravity of the sector of a circle for the first time

Robert Joseph Boscovich (1711-1787)

Jesuit polymath known for his contributions to modern atomic theory and astronomy and for devising perhaps the first geometric procedure for determining the equator of a rotating planet from three observations of a surface feature and for computing the orbit of a planet from three observations of its position

Christopher Clavius (1538 - 1612)

Christopher Clavius was a key figure in the Gregorian calendar reform in 1582. This reform was sparked by Clavius's mathematical calculation that discovered ten days needed to be dropped from the current calendar. When these 10 days were dropped from the calendar (Thursday, October 4, 1582, was followed by Friday, October 15), people thought the Church had stolen 10 days of their lives. People demanded to be paid for the wages owed during the dropped 10 days. There were rumors of conspiracy, and some Protestant regions refused to accept the new calendar for nearly 200 years, suspicious of a “Jesuit trick.”

Antoine de Laloubère (1600–1664)

Jesuit mathematician who was the first to study the properties of the helix

André Tacquet (1612–1660)

Jesuit mathematician whose work laid the groundwork for the eventual discovery of calculus