Barthélemy Faujas de Saint-Fond
Encyclopedia
Barthélemy Faujas de Saint-Fond (17 May 1741 – 18 July 1819), French
geologist
and traveller, was born at Montélimar
. He was educated at the Jesuit
's College at Lyon
; afterwards he went to Grenoble
where he studied law and was admitted as an advocate to the parlement
.
He rose to be president of the seneschal
's court in Montélimar (1765), where he acquitted himself with distinction. However, he became disenchanted with law and wished to pursue his love of nature that had begun earlier in his life. His favorite pastime was visiting the mountain regions in the Alps
and Massif Central
. There be began to study the forms, structure, composition and superposition of rocks.
In 1775 in the Velay
he discovered a rich deposit of pozzuolana, that was eventually mined by the government. In 1776 he established a relationship with Buffon
, who recognised the value of his scientific efforts immediately. Invited by Buffon to Paris
, Faujas ceased his legal work and was appointed assistant naturalist
to the natural history museum
by Louis XVI
. Later, he was appointed royal commissioner for mines.
One of his most important works was Recherches sur les volcans éteints du Vivarais et du Velay, which appeared in 1778. This publication documented his astute observations allowing Faujas to develop a theory about the origin of volcano
es. In his capacity of commissioner for mines Faujas travelled to most European countries where he closely observed the natural environment and the rock formations. Faujas was the first to recognize the volcanic nature of the basalt
ic columns of Fingal's Cave
, on Staffa
. The island was visited in 1772 by Sir Joseph Banks
, who remarked that the stone was a coarse kind of basalt, very much resembling the Giant's Causeway
in Ireland
as noted in (Pennant's Tour in Scotland and Voyage to the Hebrides). Faujas' Voyage en Angleterre, en Écosse et aux Îles Hébrides (1797) contains anecdotes about Sir Joseph Banks and Dr. John Whitehurst
, including an amusing account of The Dinner of an Academic Club (the Royal Society
), which was translated into English
(2 vols., 1799).
In 1785, Faujas was named king's commissioner to factories, armories, and royal forests. This brought a salary of 4,000 livres
, and 2,000 livres for travelling expenses, in addition to his 6,000 livres for the assistant naturalist post.
Faujas was appointed the first professor of geology at the Jardin des Plantes
in 1793, a post he held until he was nearly eighty years of age. In 1794 he secured the skull of Mosasaurus
, when Maastricht
was captured, and moved it to Paris. He retired in 1818 to the estate of Saint-Fond in Dauphiné
. Faujas had a keen interest in the balloon experiments of the Montgolfier brothers
, and published the very complete 2 volume work, Description des expériences de la machine aérostatique de MM. Montgolfier, &c. (1783, 1784). He also contributed many scientific memoirs to the Annales and the Mémoires of the museum of natural history. Among his other works are: Histoire naturelle de la province de Dauphiné (1787, 1782), Minéralogie des volcans (1784), and Essai de géologie (1803–1809).
The mineral faujasite
is named after him
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
geologist
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
and traveller, was born at Montélimar
Montélimar
Montélimar is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. It is the second-largest town in the department after Valence.-History:...
. He was educated at the Jesuit
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
's College at Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
; afterwards he went to Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
where he studied law and was admitted as an advocate to the parlement
Parlement
Parlements were regional legislative bodies in Ancien Régime France.The political institutions of the Parlement in Ancien Régime France developed out of the previous council of the king, the Conseil du roi or curia regis, and consequently had ancient and customary rights of consultation and...
.
He rose to be president of the seneschal
Seneschal
A seneschal was an officer in the houses of important nobles in the Middle Ages. In the French administrative system of the Middle Ages, the sénéchal was also a royal officer in charge of justice and control of the administration in southern provinces, equivalent to the northern French bailli...
's court in Montélimar (1765), where he acquitted himself with distinction. However, he became disenchanted with law and wished to pursue his love of nature that had begun earlier in his life. His favorite pastime was visiting the mountain regions in the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
and Massif Central
Massif Central
The Massif Central is an elevated region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaux....
. There be began to study the forms, structure, composition and superposition of rocks.
In 1775 in the Velay
Le Puy-en-Velay
Le Puy-en-Velay is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in south-central France.Its inhabitants are called Ponots.-History:Le Puy-en-Velay was a major bishopric in medieval France, founded early, though its early history is legendary...
he discovered a rich deposit of pozzuolana, that was eventually mined by the government. In 1776 he established a relationship with Buffon
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon was a French naturalist, mathematician, cosmologist, and encyclopedic author.His works influenced the next two generations of naturalists, including Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Georges Cuvier...
, who recognised the value of his scientific efforts immediately. Invited by Buffon to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Faujas ceased his legal work and was appointed assistant naturalist
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
to the natural history museum
Muséum national d'histoire naturelle
The Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle is the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, France.- History :The museum was formally founded on 10 June 1793, during the French Revolution...
by Louis XVI
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
. Later, he was appointed royal commissioner for mines.
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
es. In his capacity of commissioner for mines Faujas travelled to most European countries where he closely observed the natural environment and the rock formations. Faujas was the first to recognize the volcanic nature of the basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
ic columns of Fingal's Cave
Fingal's Cave
Fingal's Cave is a sea cave on the uninhabited island of Staffa, in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, part of a National Nature Reserve owned by the National Trust for Scotland. It is formed entirely from hexagonally jointed basalt columns, similar in structure to the Giant's Causeway in Northern...
, on Staffa
Staffa
Staffa from the Old Norse for stave or pillar island, is an island of the Inner Hebrides in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The Vikings gave it this name as its columnar basalt reminded them of their houses, which were built from vertically placed tree-logs....
. The island was visited in 1772 by Sir Joseph Banks
Joseph Banks
Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, GCB, PRS was an English naturalist, botanist and patron of the natural sciences. He took part in Captain James Cook's first great voyage . Banks is credited with the introduction to the Western world of eucalyptus, acacia, mimosa and the genus named after him,...
, who remarked that the stone was a coarse kind of basalt, very much resembling the Giant's Causeway
Giant's Causeway
The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. It is located in County Antrim on the northeast coast of Northern Ireland, about three miles northeast of the town of Bushmills...
in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
as noted in (Pennant's Tour in Scotland and Voyage to the Hebrides). Faujas' Voyage en Angleterre, en Écosse et aux Îles Hébrides (1797) contains anecdotes about Sir Joseph Banks and Dr. John Whitehurst
John Whitehurst
John Whitehurst FRS , of Cheshire, England, was a clockmaker and scientist, and made significant early contributions to geology. He was an influential member of the Lunar Society.- Life and work :...
, including an amusing account of The Dinner of an Academic Club (the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
), which was translated into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
(2 vols., 1799).
In 1785, Faujas was named king's commissioner to factories, armories, and royal forests. This brought a salary of 4,000 livres
Livre tournois
The livre tournois |pound]]) was:#one of numerous currencies used in France in the Middle Ages; and#a unit of account used in France in the Middle Ages and the early modern period.-Circulating currency:...
, and 2,000 livres for travelling expenses, in addition to his 6,000 livres for the assistant naturalist post.
Faujas was appointed the first professor of geology at the Jardin des Plantes
Jardin des Plantes
The Jardin des Plantes is the main botanical garden in France. It is one of seven departments of the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle. It is situated in the 5ème arrondissement, Paris, on the left bank of the river Seine and covers 28 hectares .- Garden plan :The grounds of the Jardin des...
in 1793, a post he held until he was nearly eighty years of age. In 1794 he secured the skull of Mosasaurus
Mosasaurus
Mosasaurus is a genus of mosasaur, carnivorous, aquatic lizards, somewhat resembling flippered crocodiles, with elongated heavy jaws. The genus existed during the Maastrichtian age of the Cretaceous period , around 70-65 millions years ago in the area of modern Western Europe and North America...
, when Maastricht
Maastricht
Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...
was captured, and moved it to Paris. He retired in 1818 to the estate of Saint-Fond in Dauphiné
Dauphiné
The Dauphiné or Dauphiné Viennois is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of :Isère, :Drôme, and :Hautes-Alpes....
. Faujas had a keen interest in the balloon experiments of the Montgolfier brothers
Montgolfier brothers
Joseph-Michel Montgolfier and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier were the inventors of the montgolfière-style hot air balloon, globe aérostatique. The brothers succeeded in launching the first manned ascent, carrying Étienne into the sky...
, and published the very complete 2 volume work, Description des expériences de la machine aérostatique de MM. Montgolfier, &c. (1783, 1784). He also contributed many scientific memoirs to the Annales and the Mémoires of the museum of natural history. Among his other works are: Histoire naturelle de la province de Dauphiné (1787, 1782), Minéralogie des volcans (1784), and Essai de géologie (1803–1809).
Faujasite
Faujasite is a mineral group in the zeolite family of silicate minerals. The group consists of faujasite-Na, faujasite-Mg and faujasite-Ca. They all share the same basic formula: 3.5[Al7Si17O48]·32 by varying the amounts of sodium, magnesium and calcium...
is named after him