A quiz question · hard
What did Émilie du Châtelet die of six days after completing her French translation of Newton's Principia?
Du Châtelet finished the Principia translation manuscript on 1 September 1749, gave birth to a daughter on 4 September, and died of puerperal fever on 10 September, aged 42. The translation became France's standard Newton for two centuries.
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The French Marquise Who Produced the Definitive French Translation of Newton's Principia, Wrote It While Pregnant at 42, and Died Six Days After Childbirth Émilie du Châtelet's French translation and mathematical commentary on Newton's *Principia* was completed in summer 1749 while she was carrying a fourth child at age 42. She finished the manuscript at Lunéville on 1 September 1749, gave birth on 4 September, and died of puerperal fever on 10 September. The translation, published posthumously in 1759, remained the standard French Newton until the 20th century.
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