Antoine-Jean-Marie Thévenard
Encyclopedia
Antoine Jean Marie Thévenard (7 December 1733, Saint-Malo
- 9 February 1815, Paris) was a French politician and vice admiral
. He served in the French ruling regimes of Louis XVI, those of the Revolution, Napoleon I
and Louis XVIII, and is buried at the Panthéon de Paris. His son Antoine-René Thévenard, capitaine de vaisseau, was killed at the Battle of Aboukir whilst commanding the Aquilon.
's expedition to Ireland (1759). Returning to Saint-Malo
, he helped in the planning of frigate construction, before being put in charge of overseeing constructions already in progress, and thus built the first gunboat
s in the French Navy
. He was promoted Capitaine de vaisseau in the Compagnie des Indes in 1764 before entering the French Navy, becoming Capitaine de frégate in 1770, then Capitaine de vaisseau in 1773. He then commanded the Lorient fleet from 1779, and became Chef d'escadre in 1784.
He became ministre de la Marine under Louis XVI in May 1791, but resigned in September 1791. Promoted Vice-amiral in 1792, he commanded the fleets at Brest
, then Toulon
, then Rochefort
, and became Préfet maritime
of Lorient then Toulon in 1801, where he remained until 1815. On 5 February 1810 he was made a comte d'Empire and member of the Sénat conservateur
. He then became a member of the Chambre des Pairs in 1814.
Saint-Malo
Saint-Malo is a walled port city in Brittany in northwestern France on the English Channel. It is a sub-prefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine.-Demographics:The population can increase to up to 200,000 in the summer tourist season...
- 9 February 1815, Paris) was a French politician and vice admiral
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
. He served in the French ruling regimes of Louis XVI, those of the Revolution, Napoleon I
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
and Louis XVIII, and is buried at the Panthéon de Paris. His son Antoine-René Thévenard, capitaine de vaisseau, was killed at the Battle of Aboukir whilst commanding the Aquilon.
Life
Aged 12 he embarked on a Compagnie des Indes ship and fought in several battles. He became a lieutenant in 1754 and destroyed the English establishments on the Newfoundland coast and took part in the pirate François ThurotFrançois Thurot
François Thurot was a French privateer, merchant naval captain and smuggler who terrorised British shipping in the early part of the Seven Years' War....
's expedition to Ireland (1759). Returning to Saint-Malo
Saint-Malo
Saint-Malo is a walled port city in Brittany in northwestern France on the English Channel. It is a sub-prefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine.-Demographics:The population can increase to up to 200,000 in the summer tourist season...
, he helped in the planning of frigate construction, before being put in charge of overseeing constructions already in progress, and thus built the first gunboat
Gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...
s in the French Navy
French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
. He was promoted Capitaine de vaisseau in the Compagnie des Indes in 1764 before entering the French Navy, becoming Capitaine de frégate in 1770, then Capitaine de vaisseau in 1773. He then commanded the Lorient fleet from 1779, and became Chef d'escadre in 1784.
He became ministre de la Marine under Louis XVI in May 1791, but resigned in September 1791. Promoted Vice-amiral in 1792, he commanded the fleets at Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
, then Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
, then Rochefort
Rochefort, Charente-Maritime
Rochefort is a commune in southwestern France, a port on the Charente estuary. It is a sub-prefecture of the Charente-Maritime department.-History:...
, and became Préfet maritime
Préfet Maritime
The Préfet Maritime is a servant of the French State who exercises authority over the sea in one particular region . As a civil servant, he reports to the Prime Minister...
of Lorient then Toulon in 1801, where he remained until 1815. On 5 February 1810 he was made a comte d'Empire and member of the Sénat conservateur
Sénat conservateur
The Sénat conservateur was a body set up in France during the Consulate by the Constitution of the Year VIII. With the Tribunat and the Corps législatif, it formed one of the three legislative assemblies of the Consulate...
. He then became a member of the Chambre des Pairs in 1814.
Memberships
- 1771 : Member of the Académie de MarineAcadémie de MarineThe Royal Naval Academy of France was founded at Brest by a ruling of 31 July 1752 by Antoine Louis de Rouillé, comte de Jouy, Secretary of State for the Navy...
- 1787 : Member of the Académie des Sciences
Distinctions
- 1773 : Knight of the Ordre de Saint-Louis. He was promoted to Commander on 27 December 1814, under the Bourbon RestorationBourbon RestorationThe Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...
. - 1804 : Grand officer of the Légion d'honneurLégion d'honneurThe Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
Works
- Mémoires relatifs à la marine.