Jean-Louis Pons (December 24, 1761 - October 14, 1831) was a French astronomer. Despite humble beginnings and being self-taught, he went on to become the greatest visual comet discoverer of all time: between 1801 and 1827 Pons discovered thirty-seven comets, more than any other person in history. Pons made his first comet discovery, jointly attributed to Charles Messier, on July 11, 1801. Read more