François Folie

François Folie (1833–1905) was a Belgian astronomer. He was the Administer at the University of Liège, director of the Institute of Astrophysics at the Cointe Observatory, and director of the Royal Observatory of Belgium.

Early life

Folie was born on 11 December 1833 in Venlo (then in Belgium). He was the oldest of seven children. In 1830 Belgium declared itself independent from The Netherlands and there was a treaty discussion going on to determine the status of the regions.

Folie went to college in Liège and on 13 August 1855 Folie earned a mathematics and physics doctorate. His father died young and Folie had to support his mother and 6 siblings. ) went to Bonn and started working with Friedrich Wilhelm Argelander in astronomy. He helped in a study of variable stars and with others assisted with a star catalog of the northern hemisphere. Also, while there, he studied thermodynamics under Rudolf Clausius. He took that training back with him to Liège and started teaching thermodynamics in 1867.

Folie was the Administer at the University of Liège from 1872 to 1884, it was under his administration that most of the buildings of science and medicine were built.

He was a correspondent of the German physicist Rudolf Clausius and taught the theory of thermodynamics. He was a member of the Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium.

Towards the end of his life he published a summary of all his works under the title Thirty-Five Years of Mathematical and Astronomical Work. In 1897 he retired but continued publishing until he died in Liège, Belgium on 29 January 1905.