"Louis Bachelier defended his thesis “Theory of Speculation” in 1900. He used Brownian motion as a model for stock exchange performance. This conversation with Bernard Bru illustrates the scientific climate of his times and the conditions under which Bachelier made his discoveries. It indicates that Bachelier was indeed the right person at the right time. He was involved with the Paris stock exchange, was self-taught but also took courses in probability and on the theory of heat."
Mathematical Finance - Bachelier Congress 2000, H. Geman, D. Madan, S.R. Pliska, T. Vorst (Eds.), Springer
