born 1698, Catalonia, Spain
died Sept. 8, 1761, Paris, France
French military and civil engineer.
After serving in the French army, he worked on measuring an arc of the Earth. As professor of artillery at a French military school, he wrote notable books on engineering, artillery, ballistics, and fortifications, but his fame rests primarily on his classic Architecture hydraulique (4 vol., 173753), covering engineering mechanics, mills and waterwheels, pumps, harbours, and sea works.