Henri Pitot, French physicist and engineer, invented the Pitot tube (died 1771)

Henri Pitot was a French hydraulic engineer and the inventor of the pitot tube.

A pitot tube measures fluid flow velocity. It was invented by French engineer Henri Pitot during his work with aqueducts and published in 1732, and modified to its modern form in 1858 by Henry Darcy. It is widely used to determine the airspeed of aircraft; the water speed of boats; and the flow velocity of liquids, air, and gases in industry.