Louis Poinsot, born in Paris on January 3, 1777, had attended the school of Lycée Louis-le-Grand for secondary preparatory education for entrance to the famous École Polytechnique.

In October 1794, at age seventeen, he took the École Polytechnique entrance exam and failed the algebra section but was still accepted.

A student there for two years, he left in 1797 to study at École des Ponts et Chaussées to become a civil engineer.

Although now on course for the practical and secure professional study of civil engineering, he discovered his true passion, abstract mathematics.

Poinsot thus left the École des Ponts et Chaussées and civil engineering to become a mathematics teacher at the secondary school Lycée Bonaparte in Paris, from 1804 to 1809.

From there he becomes inspector general of the Imperial University of France, a post he shares with another famous mathematician, Delambre.

On November 1, 1809, Poinsot becomes assistant professor of analysis and mechanics at his old school the École Polytechnique.

During this period of transitions between schools and work, Poinsot had remained active in research and published a number of works on geometry, mechanics and statics so that by 1809 he has an excellent reputation.

In this year, he describes the two remaining Kepler–Poinsot polyhedra.