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The Underground Life of Louis Bachelier's work: Three Unpublished Correspondences

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Listed:
  • Laurent Mazliak

    (LPSM (UMR_8001) - Laboratoire de Probabilités, Statistique et Modélisation - SU - Sorbonne Université - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UPCité - Université Paris Cité)

  • Mathurin Passard

    (TSE-R - Toulouse School of Economics - UT Capitole - Université Toulouse Capitole - Comue de Toulouse - Communauté d'universités et établissements de Toulouse - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement)

Abstract

Despite a substantial body of literature on the origins of financial mathematics in Louis Bachelier's work, direct documentation on the man himself — and on how his contemporaries regarded him — remains scarce. This paper presents, some previously unpublished correspondences sent by Bachelier to three interlocutors: the psychologist and sociologist Gustave Le Bon (1841–1931), the philosopher Xavier Léon (1868–1935), and the Czech mathematician Bohuslav Hostinský (1884–1951). We further document the memory of Bachelier's work within the community of actuaries, arguing that it was this community — more than the mathematicians — that helped keep his work in circulation internationally after his own scientific eclipse.

Suggested Citation

  • Laurent Mazliak & Mathurin Passard, 2026. "The Underground Life of Louis Bachelier's work: Three Unpublished Correspondences," Working Papers hal-05767813, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-05767813
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-05767813v1
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