Laplace station in Arcueil ----------------------------
Every day, crowds of people pass through "Laplace," an RER B station in Arcueil (Val-de-Marne), south of Paris, on their way to the Maison des examens, where examinations and competitive exams of all kinds are held. Why is this station named after Pierre-Simon Laplace? Quite simply because the scientist lived nearby!
Laplace is said to have acquired a property in Arcueil, sometimes described as a "château," in 1806. He did so on the advice of his wife, Marie Anne-Charlotte de Courty de Romange (1769–1862), a lady-in-waiting to Élisa, Napoleon's elder sister, and in consultation with her friend Marguerite Baur (1748–1828), Berthollet's wife. The chemist Claude-Louis Berthollet (1748–1822) already owned a property in Arcueil, on the street now known as rue Berthollet. The two men thus became neighbors and had a passage opened between their properties. There they founded the Société d'Arcueil, where numerous scholars—including Arago, Biot, Malus, Gay-Lussac, Collet-Descotils, Thenard, Poisson, Chaptal and Dulong—met first monthly and then twice a month. Berthollet provided his laboratory and Laplace his table. Madame Laplace, a talented pastry maker, enjoyed entertaining all these scholars. The Société d'Arcueil carried on the work of the Cercle de l'Arsenal, which had formed around Lavoisier and counted Laplace and Berthollet among its members.
Laplace's house was demolished in 1908, and Berthollet's around 1911.
Reference:
The "Le château Laplace" feature. Henri Toulouze, blog "Histoire et généalogie," 2019, available online.
In search of a Lycée Laplace ---------------------------------
Very few schools are named after Laplace; those that are can be found in the Calvados department. Caen had a Lycée Laplace until 2022, when it merged with Lycée Dumont-D'Urville; the two names were combined to name the new school. To find a Collège Pierre-Simon-Laplace, one must travel to Lisieux; the middle school was recently in the news following the suspicious death of its principal last August.
An institute for the climate --------------------------
The Institut Pierre-Simon-Laplace (IPSL) was founded in 1991 by Gérard Mégie and his colleagues to bring together and coordinate climate-science research in Île-de-France. It pools the instrumental and space-based resources of several laboratories to conduct multidisciplinary environmental studies. Initially designed to understand the global climate system, the IPSL's scientific work has expanded to include research on interfaces with the land surface and ecosystems, which are essential to a proper understanding of the system as a whole. IPSL researchers are very active in the work of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change).
The Friends of Laplace --------------------
The Amis de Laplace association, ALAP (**www.amisdelaplace.com**), was founded in 2016 by scientists eager to raise awareness of the work of the famous Norman scientist. Its founding project was to establish a museum in Beaumont-en-Auge, his birthplace, with a primarily educational mission. Its aim was to present "Laplace, a man for today" by showcasing his contributions and demonstrating how they resonate with contemporary society. Unfortunately, after initially expressing interest, the relevant local authorities did not support the project, fearing a substantial operating deficit.
ALAP's current board is chaired by Alexandre Moatti and also includes the historian of mathematics Jean Dhombres. They all hope to bring an alternative project to fruition in 2027, marking the bicentenary of the scientist's death.