A History of the Mathematical Theories of Attraction and the Figure of the Earth
From the Time of Newton to that of Laplace
A History of the Mathematical Theories of Attraction and the Figure of the Earth 2 Volume Set Series

Newton's Principia paints a picture of the earth as a spinning, gravitating ball. However, the earth is not completely rigid and the interplay of forces will modify its shape in subtle ways. Newton predicted a flattening at the poles, yet others disagreed. Plenty of books have described the expeditions which sought to measure the shape of the earth, but very little has appeared on the mathematics of a problem, which remains of enduring interest even in an age of satellites. Published in 1874, this two-volume work by Isaac Todhunter (1820?84), perhaps the greatest Victorian historian of mathematics, takes the mathematical story from Newton, through the expeditions which settled the matter in Newton's favour, to the investigations of Laplace which opened a new era in mathematical physics. Volume 2 is largely devoted to the work of Laplace, tracing developments up to 1825.

19. Laplace's first three memoirs; 20. Legendre's first memoir; 21. Laplace's treatise; 22. Legendre's second memoir; 23. Laplace's fourth, fifth, and sixth memoirs; 24. Legendre's third memoir; 25. Legendre's fourth memoir; 26. Laplace's seventh memoir; 27. Miscellaneous investigations between the years 1781 and 1800; 28. Laplace, Mécanique céleste, first and second volumes; 29. Laplace's theorem; 30. Laplace's equation; 31. Partial differential equation for V; 32. Laplace's second method of treating Legendre's problem; 33. Laplace's memoirs; 34. Fifth volume of the Mécanique céleste; 35. Poisson; 36. Ivory; 37. Plana; 38. Miscellaneous investigations between the years 1801 and 1825; Index.