Louise du Pierry

Louise du Pierry or Dupiery, (née Elisabeth Louise Felicité Pourra de la Madeleine) (30 July/1 August 1746 - 27 February 1807) was a French astronomer and mathematician. In 1789, she became the Sorbonne's first female professor. She is also remembered for her contributions to positional astronomy, predicting eclipses and calculating tobles of the length of days and nights.

Early life and education Elisabeth Louise Felicité Pourra de la Madeleine was born in La Ferté-Bernard, in the French province of Maine, on 30 July or 1 August 1746.

After her husband died in 1789, Louise du Pierry became a student of, and the mistress of astronomer Jérôme de Lalande, who she met in 1779. She studied both natural history and astronomy.

She established a close relationship with Lalande who addressed her as "my dear Lala" and later as "astronomette" or "Pantomaté", She was also associated with the Montauban Academy and with the Richmond Academy in the United States.

In 1782, she published "Explication des tables de la durée du jour et de la nuit" (Explanation of the tables of the duration of day and night) which the following year was included in Lalande's "Ephémérides des mouvements célestes". It is the only course in 18th-century France which was specifically designed for women.

In 2026, du Pierry was announced as one of 72 historical women in STEM whose names have been proposed to be added to the 72 men already celebrated on the Eiffel Tower. The plan was announced by the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo following the recommendations of a committee led by Isabelle Vauglin of Femmes et Sciences and Jean-François Martins, representing the operating company which runs the Eiffel Tower.