In science, Georges Le Sage (1724-1803) (IQ:150|#498) was a Swiss mathematical physicist and electrical engineer, described by Balfour Stewart and Peter Tait as having a “singularly acute mind”, notable for being the co-winner, along with physician Jean Philippe de Limbourg (a former student of Herman Boerhaave), of the Academy of Rouen’s 1758 find a physico-mechanical system of affinities competition (see: affinity table), on which he supplied a mathematical exposition of affinity in line with the concept of gravity. [1]

Gravitation
Le Sage is said to not only devised his own rather elaborate gravitation theory, but also written an extensive treatise on history of gravity theories. William Thomson, in the 1871 Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, gave an account of Le Sage's gravity theory along with suggestion for improvement, based on his vortex atom theory. [1]

Kinetic theory of gases
Le Sage’s work on the kinetic theory of gases was cited by Rudolf Clausius and James Maxwell. [3]


Le Sage and his 1774 telegraph.

Le Sage and his 1774 telegraph.

Electrical engineering
In 1774, in electrical engineering, Le Sage invented the first electric telegraph consisting of 24 wires, each suitably spaced and insulated by means of glass partitions at frequent intervals, placed in a trough in the ground, according to which each wire represented a certain letter of the alphabet:

Le Sage, knowing that gold leaf is extremely sensitive to minute electric impulses, placed a small piece of gold leaf at the end of each wire. To send a signal over any particular wire corresponding to a certain letter of the alphabet, a small static charge was sent thru the wire by touching it at the transmitting station with a glass rod which had previously been electrically excited by rubbing it with silk. This system was rather limited in its application, room to room in application, as it is very difficult to insulate a static charge for any great distance. [2]

Education
His father, who was the author of many papers on various subjects, occupied his son of his own studies early, including the works of the Roman poet Lucretius at the age of 13. According to Pierre Prévost and some notices of Le Sage, the education by his parents in his early years was very strict (see: parentally created genius), and Le Sage reacted to this by isolating himself and with meditation on various subjects. Contrary to his father, who allegedly only accepted facts and had little interest in generalization, Le Sage was primarily interested in general and abstract principles. Against the will of his father, Le Sage devoted his life to mathematics and, in particular, a search for the mecanisms of gravity.

Quotes
The following are related quotes:

“I have been born with four dispositions well adapted for making progress in science, but with two great defects in the faculties necessary for that purpose. 1. An ardent desire to know the truth; 2. Great activity of mind; 3. An uncommon (justesse) soundness of understanding; 4. A strong desire for precision and distinctness of ideas; 5. An excessive weakness of memory; 6. A great incapacity of continued attention.”
— Georges Le Sage () [4]

References
1. Stewart, Balfour and Tait, Peter G. (1875). The Unseen Universe: or Physical Speculations on a Future State (§140-41). Macmillan.
2. Historic electric apparatus – Alternative-Technologies.org.
3. (a) Clausius, Rudolf. (1862), “Über die Wärmeleitung gasförmiger Körper”, Annalen der Physik, 115: 1–57.
(b) Maxwell, James. (1867), “On the Dynamical Theory of Gases”, Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 157(0): 49–8.
4. Playfair, John. (1807), “Notice de la Vie et des Ecrits de George Louis Le Sage” (English), Edinburgh Review: 137–153.

External links
● Georges-Louis Le Sage – Wikipedia.