Fresnel-Green-Maxwell: the birefringence theory in three acts

In the present article we analyze how the basic features of the theory of birefringence, as developed by Fresnel, survived unchanged since his postulation, in the 1820s, being then confronted by the elastodynamic theories of light, which he himself had inspired in his theoretical speculations; to finally serve partially as a guide in the construction of the electromagnetic theory of light, reaching our days with its elements basically unchanged.

Keywords
luminiferous ether; elastic continuum; elastodynamics; anisotropic media