ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we sketch some points of the history of the Navier–Stokes equations. The reader will find a comprehensive study of the period 1750–1900 in Darrigol’s book Worlds of flow [117], which studies the origin of the equations as well from the mathematical theoretical point of view as from the point of view of physical experiments and observation. Other stimulating references on the infancy of mathematical hydrodynamics are the papers of Truesdell [412, 413, 414].
