In what country was the man who originally proposed Le Sage's theory of gravitation in 1690 born?
Le Sage's theory of gravitation Le Sage's theory of gravitation is a kinetic theory of gravity originally proposed by Nicolas Fatio de Duillier in 1690 and later by Georges-Louis Le Sage in 1748. The theory proposed a mechanical explanation for Newton's gravitational force in terms of streams of tiny unseen particles (which Le Sage called ultra-mundane corpuscles) impacting all material objects from all directions. According to this model, any two material bodies partially shield each other from the impinging corpuscles, resulting in a net imbalance in the pressure exerted by the impact of corpuscles on the bodies, tending to drive the bodies together. This mechanical explanation for gravity never gained widespread acceptance, although it continued to be studied occasionally by physicists until the beginning of the 20th century, by which time it was generally considered to be conclusively discredited.
Johann II Bernoulli Johann II Bernoulli (18 May 1710, Basel – 17 July 1790, Basel; also known as Jean) was the youngest of the three sons of Johann Bernoulli. He studied law and mathematics, and, after travelling in France, was for five years professor of eloquence in the university of his native city. In 1736 he was awarded the prize of the French Academy for his suggestive studies of aether. On the death of his father he succeeded him as professor of mathematics in the University of Basel. He was thrice a successful competitor for the prizes of the Academy of Sciences of Paris. His prize subjects were the capstan, the propagation of light, and the magnet. He enjoyed the friendship of P. L. M. de Maupertuis, who died under his roof while on his way to Berlin. He himself died in 1790. His two sons, Johann and Jakob, are the last noted mathematicians of the Bernoulli family.