Jacques Alexandre César Charles
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Jacques Alexandre César Charles, French chemist, physicist, and aeronaut, was born November 12, 1746, in Beaugency, Loiret, France. Beginning as a clerk in the finance ministry, Charles turned to science and experimented with electricity. He developed several inventions, including a hydrometer and reflecting goniometer, and improved the Gravesand heliostat and Fahrenheit's aerometer. He is best known for his formulation in 1787 of one of the basic gas laws, known as Charles's law. However, during his lifetime, Charles was better known for inventing the hydrogen balloon.