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Amédée Jacques (
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
, 4 July 1813 -
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the Capital city, capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata ...
, 13 October 1865), often known as Amadeo, was a
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
-
Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish ( masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines ...
pedagogue and philosopher and one of the most prestigious educators of his time.


Biography

Jacques was the son of Marie Gérard and Nicolas Jacques, a Parisian painter of miniatures. He studied at the
Lycée Condorcet The Lycée Condorcet () is a school founded in 1803 in Paris, France, located at 8, rue du Havre, in the city's 9th arrondissement. It is one of the four oldest high schools in Paris and also one of the most prestigious. Since its inception, var ...
and the
École Normale Supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education sca ...
. He received his doctorate in letters from the Sorbonne at the age of twenty-four, and soon afterwards received a degree in natural sciences. He worked as a
docent The title of docent is conferred by some European universities to denote a specific academic appointment within a set structure of academic ranks at or below the full professor rank, similar to a British readership, a French " ''maître de con ...
at the École Normale Supérieure and the
Lycée Louis-le-Grand The Lycée Louis-le-Grand (), also referred to simply as Louis-le-Grand or by its acronym LLG, is a public Lycée (French secondary school, also known as sixth form college) located on rue Saint-Jacques in central Paris. It was founded in the ...
. He collaborated on
Adolphe Frank ''Adolphe'' is a classic French novel by Benjamin Constant, first published in 1816. It tells the story of an alienated young man, Adolphe, who falls in love with an older woman, Ellénore, the Polish mistress of the Comte de P***. Their illicit ...
's ''Dictionnaire des sciences philosophiques'' in 1843, and also worked in publishing. He wrote the sections ''Introduction'' and ''Psychologie'' of Jules Simon and Émile Saisset's ''Manuel de philosophie à l'usage des collèges''. Jacques clashed with the Minister of Public Education,
Victor Cousin Victor Cousin (; 28 November 179214 January 1867) was a French philosopher. He was the founder of " eclecticism", a briefly influential school of French philosophy that combined elements of German idealism and Scottish Common Sense Realism. A ...
, with whom he, Simon, and Saisset differed politically. In 1847, the three professors founded a journal of opinion, ''Liberté de penser'', although Simon soon resigned due to Jacques's collectivist sympathies. Jacques emigrated to
Montevideo Montevideo () is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . Montevideo is situated on the southern ...
, bringing with him a recommendation from
Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, ...
. He intended originally to reorganize the Universidad Mayor, but his initiatives did not win support. Attracted to Entre Ríos by the progressive culture fostered there by its governor
Justo José de Urquiza Justo José de Urquiza y García (; October 18, 1801 – April 11, 1870) was an Argentine general and politician who served as president of the Argentine Confederation from 1854 to 1860. Life Justo José de Urquiza y García was bo ...
, Jacques decided to move to Paraná. Here he sold his scientific instruments to the local college and acquired supplies for daguerreotypy and surveying, by which he hoped to earn a living. Jacques moved to Buenos Aires to give free physics lectures, but these were not popular. With Alfredo Cosson, he traveled to
Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central Argentine province of Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous city in the country, and is also the most po ...
and Entre Rios to produce daguerreotypes. In 1854, now-president Urquiza appointed him director of the land registry. He lived briefly in
Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, 2nd largest city in the country and capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cordoba may ...
and spent several years in
Santiago del Estero Santiago del Estero (, Spanish for ''Saint-James-Upon-The-Lagoon'') is the capital of Santiago del Estero Province in northern Argentina. It has a population of 252,192 inhabitants, () making it the twelfth largest city in the country, with a su ...
, where he was married. He became the official surveyor of the province and conducted an expedition down the Salado River into Chaco. He also continued to work as a baker, and even thought of becoming a sugarcane planter. An account of his expedition, ''Excursion ou Rio Salado et dans le Chaco'', was published in Paris in 1857. In it, he recalled the events he had witnessed, including descriptions of the scenery and the customs of local people. He later moved to Tucumán, where he ran a bakery and worked as a surveyor and photographer, among many other activities, until in 1858 the provincial government appointed him director of the Colegio de San Miguel, based in the old cloisters of La Merced Church, whose professors had moved to Buenos Aires and left it unstaffed. Here he developed further his plan to reform the systems and methodologies of pedagogy. Jacques established the first institute of higher learning in Tucumán, which was praised by
Hermann Burmeister Karl Hermann Konrad Burmeister (also known as Carlos Germán Conrado Burmeister) (15 January 1807 – 2 May 1892) was a German Argentine zoologist, entomologist, herpetologist, botanist, and coleopterologist. He served as a professor at the Univ ...
and others, which would educate many distinguished Tucumanians such as Delfín Gallo and Sisto Terán. However, military and political disorder led Jacques to resign in 1860. In the Tucumanian newspapers ''El Eco del Norte'' and ''El Liberal'', he published important articles about his educational principles. He then relocated to Buenos Aires, where Marcos Paz, at that time vice president of the republic, designated him chief professor of the Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires, and following the death of Eusebio Agüero, president of the college. His tenure at the Colegio was recorded by Miguel Cané in his novel ''Juvenilia'', and in ''Memoria'', a pedagogic memoir left incomplete by Jacques's sudden death. At the Colegio he exercised his impulse to transform, introducing new scientific ideas from Europe into the curriculum, and redesigning the curriculum as a means of preparing students to ''"learn everything"''. Along with Juan María Gutiérrez he prepared the ''Plan de Instrucción Pública'' (''Plan of Public Instruction''), which had a major influence on education in Argentina. He also taught chemistry and experimental physics, and wrote ''Curso de Filosofía'', published in France, which formed the basis for the teaching of philosophy in
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...
. He died suddenly in 1865 in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the Capital city, capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata ...
,
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...
.


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jacques, Amedee 1813 births 1865 deaths Naturalized citizens of Argentina Argentine philosophers University of Paris alumni French emigrants to Argentina Writers from Paris French educators Burials at La Recoleta Cemetery