1620-1684

French physicist and ordained Roman Catholic priest who performed a number of experiments on light and sight, among other things. He discovered the punctum caecum, which is where the optic nerve enters the back of the eyeball from the brain. He experimented with rainbows and light diffraction, and discovered the macula lutea, which is in the center of the retina where the most acute vision is. Mariotte was one of the first members of the French Academy of Sciences.