Nicolas Fatio de Duillier

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Nicolas Fatio de Duillier (also spelled Faccio or Facio; 16 February 1664 – 10 May 1753) was a Genevan mathematician, natural philosopher, astronomer, inventor, and religious campaigner. Born in Basel, Switzerland, Fatio mostly grew up in the then-independent Republic of Geneva, of which he was a citizen, before spending much of his adult life in England and Holland. Fatio is known for his collaboration with Giovanni Domenico Cassini on the correct explanation of the astronomical phenomenon of zodiacal light, for his "push" or "shadow" theory of gravitation, for inventing the integrating factor as a method for solving ordinary differential equations, for his close association with both Christiaan Huygens and Isaac Newton, and for his role in the Leibniz–Newton calculus controversy. He also invented and developed the first method for fabricating jewel bearings for mechanical watches and clocks. Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London at the age of 24, Fatio never achieved the...

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