![Couronne IMG 7007](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Couronne_IMG_7007.JPG)
Georges Fournier (31 August 1595 – 13 April 1652) was a French
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
,
geographer
A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...
and
mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems.
Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change.
History
On ...
.
Biography
Fournier served as a naval
military chaplain
A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations.
Although the term ''cha ...
on a ship of the line, and acquired a strong knowledge of technical and naval matters.
In 1642, he published the treaty ''Hydrographie'', where he attempted to provide a scientific foundation to the design of ships.
[ Bertrand Gille, ''Histoire des techniques''.] At the time, results like
''Couronne'' or
HMS ''Sovereign of the Seas'' were obtained by empirical trials and errors.
He also authored a ''Treaty of fortifications or military architecture, drawn from the most estimated places of our times, for fortifications'',
[Voir bibliographie et traité en ligne](_blank)
sur le site ''Architectura'' du Centre d'études supérieures de la Renaissance à Tours
Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...
. whose original edition was published in Paris in 1649 by Jean Hénault at the Salle Dauphine of l'ange gardien. Another edition was published in 1668 in Mayence by Louis Bourgeat.
Georges Fournier taught
René Descartes
René Descartes ( or ; ; Latinized: Renatus Cartesius; 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, widely considered a seminal figure in the emergence of modern philosophy and science. Mathem ...
.
Works
In 1642, Fournier published his ''Commentaires géographiques''.
[.] The following year he published in Paris the work which will give him the essential part of his celebrity: the ''Hydrographie contenant la théorie et la pratique de toutes les parties de la navigation''. Resolutely scientific,
[ it is the first French maritime ]encyclopedia
An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...
.[Michel Vergé-Franceschi, dans .] Dedicated to Louis XIII
Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...
, it was reprinted many times (1667, 1679, 1973). Geographer, astronomer, hydrographer, mathematician, Fournier took an interest in everything: winds and tides, ports, fishing, maritime trade, shipbuilding, the conduct of officers and the art of command. The ''Hydrographie'' was therefore a first-rate source for the history of the navy during the first half of the seventeenth century, which explains the "magnificent re-edition" of this work in 1973 (Etienne Taillemite).
Georges Fournier also published in 1643 a ''Traité de la sphere'' and in 1644 a ''Traité de géométrie''. His ''Traité des fortifications ou Architecture militaire'' (published in Paris in 1649 [La deuxième édition est accessibl]
en ligne
) was translated into Dutch, Spanish and German. His works on Euclidean geometry
Euclidean geometry is a mathematical system attributed to ancient Greek mathematics, Greek mathematician Euclid, which he described in his textbook on geometry: the ''Euclid's Elements, Elements''. Euclid's approach consists in assuming a small ...
(Paris, 1644 and 1654) were translated into English, and gave rise to three successive editions. In 1656, posthumously appeared his ''Asiae nova descriptio'' (''New Description of Asia''). The book was made in collaboration with several jesuit missionaries.
Notes and references
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fournier, Georges
1595 births
1652 deaths
17th-century French Jesuits
17th-century geographers
French hydrologists
French mathematicians
French Navy chaplains
French military chaplains
Jesuit scientists
Catholic clergy scientists