Jacques-Dominique Cassini

Jacques-Dominique Cassini, also called Cassini IV, was the great-grandson of Giovanni Domenico Cassini. He belonged to four generations of astronomers associated with the Paris Observatory and the mapping of France.

No. The Carte de Cassini was a multigenerational project begun by earlier members of his family and carried out by many surveyors and engravers. Jacques-Dominique helped complete and publish the nationwide work.

It was the first systematic topographic map to cover an entire country using triangulation on a national scale. Its sheets documented French settlements, roads, rivers, forests, and regional place names before the Revolution.

The revolutionary government took control of the Cassini map project and its materials. Jacques-Dominique also lost his position at the Paris Observatory during the political upheaval, although he later continued scientific work.