Nicolas Carnot (1796–1832)
Born 1796 CE, died 1832 CE.
Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot (English: kar-NOH, French: [nikɔla leɔnaʁ sadi kaʁno]; 1 June 1796 – 24 August 1832), known as Sadi Carnot, was a French military engineer and physicist. A graduate of the École polytechnique, Carnot served as an officer in the Engineering Arm (le génie) of the French Army. He also pursued scientific studies, and in June 1824 published an essay titled Reflections on the Motive Power of Fire. In that book, which would be his only publication, Carnot developed the first successful theory of the maximum efficiency of heat engines. Carnot's scientific work attracted little attention during his lifetime, but in 1834 it became the object of a detailed commentary and explanation by another French engineer, Émile Clapeyron. Clapeyron's commentary in turn attracted the attention of William Thomson (later Lord Kelvin) and Rudolf Clausius.
Text from the Wikipedia article Nicolas_Léonard_Sadi_Carnot, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.