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Article: Mersenne, Marin (1588–1648)
- Article from:
- Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World
- Author:
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MERSENNE, MARIN (1588
–
1648)
MERSENNE, MARIN
(1588
–
1648), French mathematician, scientist, and theologian. Mersenne was born in the hamlet of La Soulti
è
re in the parish of Oiz
é
, the son of Julien Mersenne, a farmer of modest means, and his wife, Jeanne Mouli
è
re. When a new Jesuit school at La Fl
è
che opened in 1604, strongly supported by King Henry IV, Mersenne immediately transferred there, graduating in 1608. He continued his studies at the Sorbonne for two years, leaving to join the Order of Minims, a mendicant order founded in the fifteenth century by St. Francis of Paola, and in 1614 was sent to teach at their convent in Nevers.
There he began ...