Suzanne Débarbat
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Bureau des Longitudes
Suzanne Débarbat | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 4 September 1928 Montluçon, France |
| Died | 6 August 2024 (aged 95) Ivry-sur-Seine, France |
| Alma mater | Paris University |
| Employer(s) | Paris Observatory Bureau des Longitudes |
| Organization(s) | International Astronomical Union (IAU) Académie Internationale d’Histoire des Sciences French Topography Association French National Committee for the History and Philosophy of Science |
| Awards | Legion of Honour Ordre national du Mérite Ordre des Arts et des Lettres |
Suzanne Virginie Débarbat (4 September 1928 – 6 August 2024) was a French astronomer and historian of science and technology. She worked at the Paris Observatory for the duration of her career.
Débarbat was born on 4 September 1928 in Montluçon, France.[1][2] Her parents were Victor Débarbat and Léontine-Pauline Débarbat.[1]
Débarbat achieved her doctorate in 1969 from the Paris University.[3] In 1953, Débarbat joined Paris Observatory as an Assistant and worked there for the whole of her career. She was a member of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), serving as the president of the IAU Commission 41 (History of Astronomy) from 1991 to 1994.[3] She was also a member of the Bureau des Longitudes, serving as president from 2004 to 2005,[3] Académie Internationale d’Histoire des Sciences,[4][5] French Topography Association and the French National Committee for the History and Philosophy of Science.[6]
Débarbat was also a historian of science and technology, principally focused on 17th-century astronomy in France and Europe.[3] Her historical research included Jean Dominique Cassini’s presentation of a new map of the Moon to the Academy of Sciences in Paris in 1679, the origins of the metric system in France and the history of the Paris Observatory.[4]
Débarbat died on 6 August 2024 in Ivry-sur-Seine, France, aged 95.[3][4]
