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Maupertuis is most famous for formulating the principle of least action.
Maupertuis became a member of the Académie des Sciences in Paris in 1731. In 1732 he introduced Newton's theory of gravitation to France.
He was a member of an expedition to Lapland in 1736 which set out to measure the length of a degree along the meridian. Maupertuis' measurements verified Newton's predictions that the Earth would be an oblate speroid. They corrected earlier results of Cassini.
Maupertuis gained fame from this expedition and he was invited to Germany by Frederick the Great. After going to Berlin he accompanied the Prussian army in the field and was taken prisoner in 1741. He became a member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences in 1741 and, four years later, became its president. He held the post of president for eight years.
Maupertuis published on many topics including mathematics, geography, astronomy and cosmology. In 1744 he first enunciated the Principle of Least Action and he published it in Essai de cosmologie in 1850. Maupertuis hoped that the principle might unify the laws of the universe and combined it with an attempted proof of the existence of God.
Maupertuis was accused by Samuel König of plagiarizing Leibniz's work but he was defended by Euler. Voltaire was so critical of Maupertuis' work that eventually he left Berlin in 1753.
References elsewhere in this archive:
Tell me about Maupertuis's work on orbits and gravitation
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