Louis-Pierre-Eugène Sédillot
French historian (1808–1875)
Louis-Pierre-Eugène Amélie Sédillot (23 June 1808 in Paris – 2 December 1875), was a French orientalist and historian of science and mathematics.
Biography
His father, Jean Jacques Emmanuel Sédillot, orientalist and astronomer, worked alongside Delambre and Laplace. His older brother, Charles-Emmanuel Sédillot, became a renowned surgeon. Louis-Pierre-Eugene also showed predispositions towards study. He began his career as a history teacher before becoming Secretary of the Collège de France and the School of Oriental Languages in 1832.
Selected works
Manuel de la Bourse, contenant des notions exactes sur les effets publics français et étrangers, avec l'état de leur cours respectif depuis l'origine; sur les affaires qui se traitent à la Bourse de Paris, 1829
Traité des instruments astronomiques des Arabes composé au treizième siècle par Aboul Hhassan Ali, de Maroc, intitulé Collection des commencements et des fins, traduit de l'arabe sur le manuscrit 1147 de la Bibliothèque royale par J.-J. Sédillot, et publié par L.-Am. Sédillot, 2 volumes, 1834–1835
Manuel classique de chronologie, 2 volumes, 1834–1850
Mémoire sur les instruments astronomiques des Arabes, 1841
Mémoire sur les systèmes géographiques des Grecs et des Arabes, 1842
Supplément au Traité des instruments astronomiques des Arabes, 1844
Matériaux pour servir à l'histoire comparée des sciences mathématiques chez les Grecs et les Orientaux, 2 volumes, 1845–1849
Prolégomènes des tables astronomiques d'Oloug-Beg, publiés avec notes et variantes et précédés d'une introduction, 1847
Histoire des Arabes, 1854; 1877. Reprint: Plan-de-la-Tour : Éd. d'Aujourd'hui, coll. « Les Introuvables », 1984
Mémoire sur l'origine de nos chiffres, 1865
Les Professeurs de mathématiques et de physique générale au Collège de France, 1869.
The public source identifies “Louis-Pierre-Eugène Sédillot” as french historian (1808–1875). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Louis-Pierre-Eugène, Sédillot and French.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Louis-Pierre-Eugène Sédillot”, the useful work is to connect “french historian (1808–1875)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3260828. VIAF identifies the subject as 71477153. The Library of Congress control number is n87831990. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1808, 1875, 1832 and 1829.
Later biographies can compress uncertainty and repeat inherited reputations, so apparently settled claims may still require comparison. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Louis-Pierre-Eugène Sédillot”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Louis-Pierre-Eugène Sédillot primary sources, Louis-Pierre-Eugène Sédillot archive and Louis-Pierre-Eugène research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Louis-Pierre-Eugène Sédillot”?
- Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
- How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Louis-Pierre-Eugène Sédillot” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.