Portrait of Jacques-Arsène d'Arsonval

Birthday profile

Jacques-Arsène d'Arsonval

Jacques-Arsène d'Arsonval, French physician and physicist (died 1940)

Born
June 8, 1851
Died
December 31, 1940
Zodiac sign
Gemini
Birth year
1851

About Jacques-Arsène d'Arsonval

Jacques-Arsène d'Arsonval (8 June 1851 – 31 December 1940) was a French physician, physicist and inventor of the moving-coil d'Arsonval galvanometer and the thermocouple ammeter. D'Arsonval was an important contributor to the emerging field of electrophysiology, the study of the effects of electricity on biological organisms, in the nineteenth century. == Life == D'Arsonval was born in the Château de la Borie, in La Porcherie, Haute Vienne, France. He studied medicine in Limoges and Paris and obtained his medical degree in 1877. From 1873 to 1878 he was assistant to Claude Bernard, one of the founders of experimental physiology. After Bernard’s death he assisted Charles-Édouard Brown-Séquard (1817-1894), giving his lectures, and when Brown-Séquard died in 1894 replaced him as professor at College de France. Influenced by Bernard, d'Arsonval decided to devote his life to research. In 1892, he became director of the new laboratory of biophysics at the College de France and continued in that post until 1910. His main contributions were in electrophysiology. From 1889 d'Arsonval did the first research on the physiological effects of alternating current on the body.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

The world when Jacques-Arsène d'Arsonval was born

Jacques-Arsène d'Arsonval was born in 1851. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1851

  • Best-selling bookMoby-Dick by Herman Melville

Headlines and milestones

  • Top headlineGreat Exhibition in London — first World's Fair
  • Technology milestoneIsaac Singer patents practical sewing machine
  • World population~1.31B

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderMillard Fillmore
  • U.S. population23.8M

1851 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Jacques-Arsène d'Arsonval's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure18512026
Population23.8M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

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