BAILLY SELVAIN,) a celebrated French astronomer, historiographer, and politician, was born at Paris the 15th of September, 1736, and has figured as one of the greatest men of the age, being a member of several academies, and an ex cellent scholar and writer. He enjoyed for several years the office of keeper of the king's pictures at Paris. He publish ed in 1766, a volume in 4to, " An Essay on the Theory of Jupiter's preceded by a history of the astronomy of these satellites. In the "Journal En cyclopedique," for May and June 1773, he addressed a letter to M. Bernoulli, astronomer royal at Berlin, upon some discoveries relative to these satellites which he had disputed. In 1768, he pub lished the Eulogy of Leibnitz, which ob tained the prize at the Academy of Ber lin, where it was printed. In 1770, he printed at Paris, in 8vo, the Eulogies of Charles the Vth, of De la Caille, of Leib nitz, and of Corneille. This last had the second prize at the Academy of Rouen, and that of Moliere had the same honour at the French Academy.
M. Bailly was admitted into the Acade my as adjunct, the 29th of January, 1763, and as associate, the 14th of July, 1770. In 1775 came out at Paris, in 4to, his " History of the Ancient Astronomy," in one volume ; in 1779, the " History of Modern Astronomy," in two volumes ; and in 1787, the " History of the Indian and Oriental Astronomy," being the se cond volume of the Ancient Astronomy.
Besides these, he was author of many me moirs in the several volumes of the Aca demy.
In the beginning of the revolution in France, in 1789, M. Bailly took an active part in that business, and was so popular and generally esteemed, that he was Cho sen the first president of the states gene ral, and of the national assembly, and was afterwards, for two years together, the mayor of Paris ; in both which offices he conducted himself with great spirit, and gave general satisfaction.
He soon afterward, however, experi enced a sad reverse of fortune ; being ac cused by the ruling party of favouring the king, he was arrested, and summarily condemned by an infamous and bloody tribunal, for incivism, and wishing to over turn the republic, and died by the guillo tine, at Paris, on the 11th day of Novem ber, 1793, at 57 years of age. The cha racter of this great man can only be esti mated by his works. In his person he was tall; his deportment was grave and se date, and he blended firmness with sensi bility.