b. 4 May 1733 Dax, France
d. 20 February 1799 Paris
Borda is known today for his method
of election. By this, each voter ranks candidates in order of
preference. The winner of the election is the one who is most
preferrred.
Borda's paper was published in
Histoire de l'Académie Royale des
Sciences for the year 1781 (1784) pp. 31-–34. We have also
La Vie et les Travaux du Chevalier Jean-Charles de Borda (Paris, 1919)
by Jean Mascart and Emile Picard. This work mentions that the Borda count was adopted by
the Academy of Sciences in its elections around year VI but that it was
apparently abandoned under the influence of Bonaparte by year VIII.
