Jean-Baptiste Soleil Jean-Baptiste Soleil </div>Jean-Baptiste François Soleil (1798–1878) was a French optician and engineer. In 1819, Soleil founded an eponymous company at 23 Passage Vivienne in Paris, specialised in making optics instruments for such notable researchers as Fresnel, Arago, Foucault and Babinet. In 1825 he moved business to 21, rue de l'Odéon . In 1843, he made a heliostat for Jean Thiébault Silbermann. In 1849, the business was split between to divisions under his son Henri Soleil, and his son-in-law Jules Duboscq. The Soleil division went on under Laurent Soleil, and has now been renamed to Jobin Yvon. The Duboscq division was
Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company. It is the largest theatrical producer in the world. Based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 7 July 1984, by two former street performers, Guy Laliberté and Gilles Ste-Croix. Initially named "Les Échassiers" (, "The Waders"), they toured Quebec in 1980 as a performing troupe. Their initial financial hardship was relieved in 1983 by a government grant from the Canada Council for the Arts, as part of the 450th