The son of a cider merchant, Pierre-Simon Laplace was born in Beaumont-en-Auge (Calvados), near Trouville. After studying at the Université de Caen, he moved to the capital in 1769, having presented d'Alembert with a four-page essay on the general principles of mechanics. Backed by the editor of the scientific section of the Encyclopédie, the very young Laplace secured a position as professor of mathematics at the École royale militaire, enabling him to submit a dozen acclaimed papers to the Académie des sciences.

Pierre-Simon, Marquis de Laplace (1749–1827). Statue by Jean-Auguste Barre, 1846. The engraved birth date, "1745", is wrong!

Completing Newton's work -------------------------
From his earliest years, Laplace published prolifically, establishing a research program that encompassed celestial mechanics, probability theory, physics and chemistry, in keeping with the brief set by d'Alembert: to complete Newton's work. The young mathematician's consistency was remarkable: throughout his career, he remained faithful to this framework, both in his cutting-edge research and in his various academic and scientific outreach roles.