^Gaspard Monge (1746-1818), French mathematician. Monge became professor of mathematics at the military academy at Mezieres, France. He was an active supporter of Napoleon and became Minister of the Navy in 1792. He is remembered as founder of descriptive geometry, the basis of modern engineering drawing, and for his work on the curvature of surfaces. He developed the theory of a class of equations now called Monge equations. He also tackled partial differential equations, the composition of nitrous acid, capillary phenomena, and the synthesis of water from hydrogen and oxygen. Illustration published in 1864.