Perrault developed the theory of the hydrologic cycle, correctly accounting for the roles of evaporation, transpiration, throughflow, and surface runoff.
Pierre Perrault was a Receiver General of Finances for Paris and later a scientist who developed the concept of the hydrological cycle.!
Pierre Perrault (scientist)
Hydrologist
For the film director, see Pierre Perrault.
For the science fiction writer, see Pierre Pairault.
Pierre Perrault (c.
1608, in Paris – 1680, in Paris) was a Receiver General of Finances for Paris and later a scientist who developed the concept of the hydrological cycle. He and Edme Mariotte were primarily responsible for making hydrology an experimental science.[1]
Life
Perrault grew up in a bourgeois family, had at least seven siblings, and probably lived all his life in Paris.
He developed the concept of the hydrological cycle, correctly accounting for the disposition of rainfall by evaporation, transpiration, ground‐water recharge.Little is known about his life, despite the fame of some of his younger brothers. These include Claude, an architect of part of the Louvre Palace; Nicholas, a doctor of theology known for his denunciation of the Jesuits; and Charles, author of Tales of Mother Goose.[1]
Perrault was trained as a lawyer, and in 1654 purchased the position of Receiver General of Finances for Paris.
This post involved collecting taxes for Louis XIV, and he