Study of a Trajectory: Kiril Popoff, wars, and ballistics

In this paper, we follow the surprising trajectory of Kiril Popoff (1880-1966), a Bulgarian astronomer and mathematician who specialized in ballistics during the Great War and he was invited in the 1920s to teach a course on the subject at Paris University. To complete the picture, we also present the social and political context of Bulgaria at the beginning of 20th century.