Named in memory of Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Fourier (1768–1830), French mathematician who exerted a strong influence on mathematical physics through his Théorie analytique de la chaleur (1822), wherein he showed that the conduction of heat in solid bodies may be analyzed in terms of infinite mathematical series, the so-called “Fourier series”. In 1798 he accompanied Napoleon to Egypt, where he was engaged, until 1801, in extensive research on Egyptian antiquities. (M 35493) _ _.