1818 french physicist augustin fresnel signs his preliminary not 04 19
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1818 208 years ago Selected Events July 29 4 sources

French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel submitted a memoir on the diffraction of light to the Royal Academy of Sciences, providing strong support for the wave theory of light.

On July 29, in the year 1818, French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel submitted a memoir on the diffraction of light to the Royal Academy of Sciences, providing strong support for the wave theory of light. This event is recorded as a Selected Events event in the history of July 29, one of 416 recorded events on this date across all of history.

Augustin-Jean Fresnel was a French civil engineer and physicist whose research in optics led to the almost unanimous acceptance of the wave theory of light, fully supplanting Newton's corpuscular theory, from the late 1830s  until the end of the 19th century. He is perhaps better known for inventing the catadioptric (reflective/refractive) Fresnel lens and for pioneering the use of "stepped" lenses to extend the visibility of lighthouses, saving countless lives at sea. The simpler dioptric stepped lens, first proposed by Count Buffon  and independently reinvented by Fresnel, is used in screen magnifiers and in condenser lenses for overhead projectors.

Key Facts

  • This event took place on July 29, 1818 (AD era).
  • It is categorised as a Selected Events event in recorded history.
  • Referenced in 4 Wikipedia articles.
  • Wikipedia source last updated on 15 July 2026.

On This Date in History 416

Type Year Date Event
Notable Deaths 2025 Jul 29 Alon Abutbul, Israeli film, television and theater actor (born 1965)
Historical Events 2024 Jul 29 Three children are stabbed to death and 10 other people injured at a dance studio in Southport, England. This…
Historical Events 2021 Jul 29 The International Space Station temporarily spins out of control, moving the ISS 45 degrees out of attitude, following…
Historical Events 2019 Jul 29 The 2019 Altamira prison riot between rival Brazilian drug gangs leaves 62 dead.
Notable Deaths 2018 Jul 29 Oliver Dragojević, Croatian recording artist (born 1947)
Notable Deaths 2018 Jul 29 Nikolai Volkoff, Yugoslav-born American professional wrestler (born 1947)
Historical Events 2015 Jul 29 The first piece of suspected debris from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 is discovered on Réunion Island.
Notable Deaths 2015 Jul 29 Antony Holland, English-Canadian actor, director, and playwright (born 1920)
Notable Deaths 2015 Jul 29 Peter O'Sullevan, Anglo-Irish sportscaster (born 1918)
Notable Deaths 2015 Jul 29 Mike Pyle, American football player and sportscaster (born 1939)
Notable Deaths 2015 Jul 29 Franklin H. Westervelt, American computer scientist, engineer, and academic (born 1930)
Notable Deaths 2014 Jul 29 M. Caldwell Butler, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (born 1925)
Notable Deaths 2014 Jul 29 Jon R. Cavaiani, English-American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1943)
Notable Deaths 2014 Jul 29 Giorgio Gaslini, Italian pianist and composer (born 1929)
Notable Deaths 2014 Jul 29 María Antonia Iglesias, Spanish journalist and author (born 1945)
Notable Deaths 2014 Jul 29 Péter Kiss, Hungarian engineer and politician (born 1959)
Notable Deaths 2014 Jul 29 Idris Muhammad, American drummer and composer (born 1939)
Notable Deaths 2014 Jul 29 Thomas R. St. George, American soldier and author (born 1919)
Historical Events 2013 Jul 29 Two passenger trains collide in the Swiss municipality of Granges-près-Marnand near Lausanne injuring 25 people.
Notable Deaths 2013 Jul 29 Christian Benítez, Ecuadorian footballer (born 1986)
Notable Deaths 2013 Jul 29 Peter Flanigan, American banker and civil servant (born 1923)
Notable Deaths 2013 Jul 29 Tony Gaze, Australian soldier, pilot, and race car driver (born 1920)
Notable Deaths 2013 Jul 29 Munir Hussain, Indian cricketer and sportscaster (born 1929)
Notable Deaths 2012 Jul 29 Tatiana Egorova, Russian footballer and manager (born 1970)
Notable Deaths 2012 Jul 29 August Kowalczyk, Polish actor and director (born 1921)
Notable Deaths 2012 Jul 29 Chris Marker, French photographer and journalist (born 1921)
Notable Deaths 2012 Jul 29 James Mellaart, English archaeologist and author (born 1925)
Notable Deaths 2012 Jul 29 John Stampe, Danish footballer and coach (born 1957)
Historical Events 2010 Jul 29 An overloaded passenger ferry capsizes on the Kasai River in Bandundu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo,…
Notable Deaths 2010 Jul 29 Charles E. Wicks, American chemist and academic (born 1925)
Notable Deaths 2008 Jul 29 Bruce Edward Ivins, American scientist and bio-defense researcher (born 1946)
Notable Deaths 2007 Jul 29 Mike Reid, English comedian, actor, and author (born 1940)
Notable Deaths 2007 Jul 29 Michel Serrault, French actor (born 1928)
Notable Deaths 2007 Jul 29 Tom Snyder, American journalist and talk show host (born 1936)
Notable Deaths 2007 Jul 29 Marvin Zindler, American journalist (born 1921)
Historical Events 2005 Jul 29 Astronomers announce their discovery of the dwarf planet Eris.
Notable Deaths 2004 Jul 29 Rena Vlahopoulou, Greek actress and singer (born 1923)
Notable Births 2003 Jul 29 Johnny Brackins, American long jumper and hurdler
Notable Deaths 2003 Jul 29 Foday Sankoh, Sierra Leonean soldier, founded the Revolutionary United Front (born 1937)
Notable Deaths 2001 Jul 29 Edward Gierek, Polish soldier and politician (born 1913)
Notable Deaths 2001 Jul 29 Wau Holland, German computer scientist, co-founded Chaos Computer Club (born 1951)
Notable Births 1998 Jul 29 Mirjam Björklund, Swedish tennis player
Notable Births 1998 Jul 29 Clayton Keller, American ice hockey player
Notable Deaths 1998 Jul 29 Jerome Robbins, American director, producer, and choreographer (born 1918)
Historical Events 1996 Jul 29 The child protection portion of the Communications Decency Act is struck down by a U.S. federal court as too broad.
Notable Deaths 1996 Jul 29 Ric Nordman, Canadian businessman and politician (born 1919)
Notable Deaths 1996 Jul 29 Marcel-Paul Schützenberger, French mathematician and theorist (born 1920)
Notable Deaths 1996 Jul 29 Jason Thirsk, American singer and bass player (born 1967)
Notable Deaths 1995 Jul 29 Les Elgart, American trumpet player and bandleader (born 1917)
Notable Births 1994 Jul 29 Liam O'Brien, Canadian ice hockey player

This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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