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Pierre Gassendi, French philosopher, scientist, astronomer, and mathematician, 17th century. Appointed professor of mathematics at the College Royal, Paris, in 1645, Gassendi (1592-1655) numbered Kepler and Galileo among his friends. He rejected Aristotelianism and favoured an experimental approach to science. He was important in the revival of atomism, and calculated the velocity of sound in air with some accuracy. Found in the collection of the State A Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow.