Michel Foucault of left-wing groups involved in campaigns against racism and human rights abuses and for penal reform. Foucault later published "Discipline and Punish" (1975) and "The History of Sexuality" (1976), in which he developed archaeological and genealogical methods which emphasized the role that power plays in society. Foucault died in Paris of neurological problems compounded by HIV/AIDS; he became the first public figure in France to die from the disease. His partner Daniel Defert founded the AIDES charity in his memory. Paul-Michel Foucault was born on 15 October 1926 in the city of Poitiers, west-central France, as the second of three
Foucault pendulum vector diagrams observed in relation to the pendulum swing. At the North Pole the support-point of the pendulum swing is located on the axis of rotation of the Earth. No matter what vertical orientation is established by the plane of the swing, the relative velocity vectors of the Earth's surface on opposite sides and equidistant from the center point of the swing will be in opposition. The Earth turns underneath the plane of the pendulum swing that is established. The support-point of the connection turns with the Earth and is depicted as freely suspended above the Earth. The plane of the pendulum