He was born in Paris, France, and was educated at Senlis, where he became professor of theology in 1735. At an early age he had developed an interest in astronomy, and in 1749 he was appointed professor of astronomy at the academy of Rouen. He would eventually be appointed the librarian of the Abbey of Ste-Geneviève, and the university's chancellor. At Ste-Geneviève he would build an observatory, and continue to work there for forty years.
Unfortunately he had poor eyesight so his observing skills were limited, but he did earn a reputation as an excellent mathematician. He came to the attention of the scientific community when he detected an error of four minutes in Lacaille's computation of a 1749 lunar eclipse. After observing a transit of Mercury, he was made a corresponding member of the Académie des Sciences. In 1757 he became interested in comets and published a substantial treatise on the theory and observational history of comets.
Subsequently he published a nautical almanac based on the work of P. Charles Lemonnier containing lunar tables. During the 1761 transit of Venus, Pingré went on one of the three observing campaigns organized by the Académie Royale, travelling to Rodrigues Island near Madagascar. Pingré's subsequent discounting of Giovanni Battista Audiffredi's observations led to a scientific dispute.1
In 1767 he sailed to the Baltic with Charles Messier to test marine chronometers. Two years later he joined a successful expedition to Haiti to observe the Venus transit of 1769. In 1771 he participated in the naval survey of the frigateLa Flore with Verdun de la Crenne and Borda.
