Georges Fournier (31 August 1595 – 13 April 1652) was a French

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and

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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
sur le site ''Architectura'' du Centre d'études supérieures de la Renaissance à

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. 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

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(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

* BNF 304555507 * * * {{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