FAYE, fa, HERVE AUGUSTE ETIENNE ALBANS (1814—). A French astronomer. He was horn at Saint-Benott-du-Sault (Indre), and was edu cated at the Ecole Polytechnique, which he left in 1834, before completing his course, to accept a position in the observatory at Paris to which he had been appointed on the recommendation of Al. Arago. He made rapid progress in his astnanaid•al studies and investigations, and on November 22, 1843, attracted world-wide at tention by the discovery of the periodical comet which bears his name. This discovery won It ha the Lalande prize and a membership in the Academy of Sciences. In 1848 he became an in structor in geodesy at the Polytechnique, and in 1851 rector of the Academy at Nancy and pro fessor of astronomy in the faculty of science there. Ile was inspector-general of secondary education from 1857 to 1862, and N•:IS appointed professor of astronomy and geodesy at time Ecole Polytechnique in 1873. He served as president of the Bureau of Longitudes in 1876. and chief in
spector of higher education in 1877, and in the latter year for a short time was Minister of Public Instruction in the Rochebonet Cabinet. llis work covers time entire field of astronomical investigation. It comprises the determination of comet periods. the measurement of parallaxes, and the study of stellar and planetary move ments. Ile advanced several original theories on the nature and form of comets, meteors, the aurora borealis, and the physical constitution of time sun. In collaboration with Charles Ga hisky he translated Humboldt's Cos m os (4 vols., 1846-59), and in addition to numerous contribu tions to scientific periodicals, published the fol lowing important works: Sur les Velinaisons absolues ( 1850 ) ; Sur les cyrlones solairrs (1873) ; Cours d'astronomie do l'Eeole Polytech nique (1881-83) Sur rorigine du monde (2d ed., enlarged, 1885). See FATE'S COMET.