Jean-Felix Picard (July 21, 1620 - July 12, 1682) was a French astronomer and priest born in La Flèche, where he studied at the Jesuit Collège Royal Henry-Le-Grand. He was the first person to measure the size of the Earth to a reasonable degree of accuracy in a survey conducted in 1669-70, for which he is honored with a pyramid at Juvisy-sur-Orge. Read more