Seven Concepts Attributed to Siméon-Denis Poisson

Abstract

Siméon-Denis Poisson was 25 years old when he was appointed Professor of Mathematics at the École Polytechnique in 1806. Elected to the Paris Académie des Sciences six years later, he soon became one of its most influential members. The origin and later developments of the many concepts in mathematics and physics that bear his name make interesting stories, a few of which we shall attempt to sketch in this paper.