Borda was a sailor and a scientist, spending time in the Caribbean testing out advances in chronometers. Between 1777 and 1778, he participated in the American Revolutionary War. In 1781, he was put in charge of several vessels in the French Navy. In 1782, he was captured by the English, and was returned to France shortly after. He returned as an engineer in the French Navy, making improvements to waterwheels and pumps.
Borda advocated a voting system devised by Nicholas of Cusa in the 15th Century. Today, this method is most commonly referred to as the Borda count. As a contemporary of the Marquis de Condorcet, he engaged in many scholarly debates regarding the merits of their respective voting systems (Condorcet advocated a Condorcet method)
Borda, however, reported on the 19 March 1791 that the Commission had decided on a different standard, namely that one metre should be one ten millionth of the distance from the North Pole to the equator.
Borda felt that Condorcet's proposal was fair but he suggested that it was not workable in practice as no winner might result.
There was a vigorous argument between Borda and Condorcet as to which of the two voting systems was the best but of course since both systems had their strengths and weaknesses, such an argument was bound to be inconclusive.
This method was devised by Borda to fairly elect members to the French Academy of Sciences and was used by the Academy beginning in 1784 until quashed by Napoleon in 1800.
Borda count is used to break ties for member elections of the faculty personnel committee of the School of Business Administration at the College of William and Mary.
In professional societies, the Borda count is used to elect the Board of Governors of the International Society for Cryobiology, the management committee of Tempo sustainable design network, located in Cornwall, United Kingdom, and to elect members to Research Area Committees of the U.S. Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative.
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