RODET, Léon. 1832? — 1895. French Oriental Scholar and Historian of Mathematics. Several internet sources (e.g. wikidata) give the impossible 1850 as his birth year. Studies at École polytechnique, Paris, then living in Paris styling himself only as a member of Société Asiatique, which perhaps indicates employment outside scholarship. One L.R. was in 1859 “Inspecteur de la Fabrication à la Manufacture Impériale des Tabacs” (https://www.gazette-drouot.com/lots/10103134). In his study of al-Khwārizmī he tried to disprove all Indian influence in his work.

Publications: Premieurs éléments de la langue anglo-saxonne. 1. P. 1858.

– Grammaire abrégée de la langue sanscrite. 1–2. 171 p. P. 1860 (sometimes wrongly quoted as being written by “Jean Rodet”, but see R. Lardinois, Scholars and Prophets: Sociology of India from France in the 19th-20th Centuries. 2018, note 38).

– Le Touran et les Touraniens suivant la tradition persane. 24 p. P. 1877.

– “L’algèbre d’al-Khârizmi et les méthodes indienne et grecque”, JA 7:11, 1878, 5-98; On Egyptian algebra, JA 1882; other articles.

– “Leçons de calcul d’Âryabhaṭa”, JA 7:13, 1879, 393-434; “Sur la véritable signification de la notation numérique inventée par Âryabhaṭa”, JA 7:16, 1880, 440-485.

– “Sur la notation des monnaies de l’Inde”, JA 8:9, 1887, 531-536.

Sources: Briefly mentioned in Catal. gén. de la librairie fr. 4, 1840–1865, & 10, 1876-85.