Pierre Louis Maupertuis: Timeline

1736   A French expedition led by Pierre Louis Maupertuis is sent by King Louis XV Louis XV of France

Louis XV , "the Beloved" , was King of France [i] from 1715 [i] until his death. ... 

 to Lapland to measure the length of a degree of the meridian, and proves that the Earth Earth

Earth is the third planet [i] in the solar system [i] in terms of distance from the Sun [i], and the fi ... 

 is flattened at the poles

1738   Pierre Louis Maupertuis publishes ''Sur la figure de la terre'', which 'confirms Newton's Isaac Newton

[i] [[[Old Style and New Style dates|OS]] [i]: [[25 December]] [i] [[1642]] [i]... 

 view that the earth is a spheroid slightly flattened at the poles'.

1759   Died