Journal for the History of Science

Journal for the History of Science

A Study of Lagrange's Life and Works, with an Emphasis on His Book: Analytical Mechanics

Document Type : -

Author
Amir JarrahiDarban
MS. Sharif University of Technology
10.22059/jihs.2026.411268.371878
Abstract
In this article, we will first present a biography of Joseph-Louis Lagrange and an account of his scientific activities, and then introduce his most important work, the book Analytical Mechanics. In addition to examining Lagrange's main work, some of his other works will also be briefly mentioned. Furthermore, we will address some of the scientific activities of scholars who preceded him or were his contemporaries, such as Newton, Wolff, Euler, d'Alembert, the Bernoulli brothers, Clairaut, Fontaine, Condorcet, and others.
Keywords
Joseph-Louis Lagrange
Analytical Mechanics
The Principle of Virtual Work
The Principle of the Least Action
Variational Calculus
Subjects
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Capparrini, Sandro (2014b). The History of Méchanique Analytique. Lett Mat Int 2:47-54. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40329-014-0043-3.
Goldstein, Herbert, Charles P. Poole, and John L. Safko. Classical Mechanics. Third edition, Pearson new international edition. Harlow, Essex, England: Pearson, 2014.
Hanc, Josef; Taylor, Edwin F. (2004). From Conservation of Energy to the Principle of Least Action: A Story Line. American Journal of Physics 72(2):514-521. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.1645282.
Boissonnade, Auguste; Vagliente, Victor N. (1997). Analytical Mechanics. Boston Studies in Philosophy of Science, Volume 191 – An English Translation of Joseph L. Lagrange’s Mecanique Analytique (1815). Springer Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-8903-1.
Journal for the History of Science
Volume 24, Issue 1
September 2026
Pages 235-245