A historiographical overview of the current state of research into Jean Le Rond D'Alembert (1717--1783) (Q6604548)

Jean Le Rond d'Alembert was one of the most distinguished thinkers of the eighteenth century. He produced significant original work in pure mathematics and various fields of mathematical physics, he was a respected philosopher, a Latinist, and co-editor with Denis Diderot of the Encyclopédie.\N\NDespite his considerable impact during his life, during the nineteenth century and much of the twentieth century d'Alembert was undeservedly neglected, historians preferring to refer to Euler, Laplace, and Lagrange. From the 1990s, a clearer vision has begun to emerge, bolstered by the preparation of a scholarly, critical edition of d'Alembert's \textit{Complete works} (Œuvres complètes) including not only his scientific publications and contributions to the Encyclopédie, but also his translations, memoirs, and correspondence sent and received (It is projected to be 60 volumes, of which six have appeared).\N\NThe present work is an overview introduction by the guest editors to the Special Issue of Centaurus for the Tercentenary of Jean Le Rond d'Alembert's birth (1717--1783), summarising recent work on d'Alembert.