Henri Fontaine (; 20 July 1924 – 31 January 2020), was a French Roman Catholic

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

. He was also a pre-

Tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

paleontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

Paleozoic The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838 by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ' ...

corals Corals are marine invertebrates within the class (biology), class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important C ...

specialist, and

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

Biography

Fontaine was born in

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, France in July 1924. Admitted into the Society of Foreign Missions of Paris and ordained in 1948, he was sent to

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

(

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

) in 1951 as professor at the Petit Séminaire. Meantime, he plunged into the study of

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...

corals of

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

and

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...

. In 1954 when Viet Nam was divided into North and South, he settled at

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

. When he arrived in Saigon, there was neither a geological survey nor geologists. Upon the request of the Government of South Viet Nam, he set up and oversaw the new Geological Survey, and carried out research into limestone and coal for developing a cement factory and coal mine, pure silica sands for glassworks, and mineral springs for drinking and medicinal waters. Mineral water of the Dangun Spring (Province of Binh Thuân), one of the studied springs, has been exploited and bottled under the name Laska; its label mentions discovery in the 1950s by the French scientist H. Fontaine. He released the only annual geological publication ''Archives géologiques du Viet Nam'' of which the first number came out in 1952 at

under the direction of Edmond Saurin who was the last chief of Geological Survey of

. From then on to 1975, this publication went through 16 new editions under his responsibility. Early 1960, after getting Doctorat ès Sciences (PhD) at the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

(Sorbonne, France), he was officially appointed expert-geologist to the Geological Survey of the Republic of Viet Nam, dependent himself on the Department of Cultural and Technical Cooperation (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France) from then on to 1976. He founded the Department of Geology of the University of Huê (ancient imperial capital) and supported post-graduate students at the Faculty of Sciences of Saigon. His research improved the geological maps 1/2 000 000 of the former

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...

, the geological understanding of coastal areas, islands of the

Gulf of Thailand The Gulf of Thailand, also known as the Gulf of Siam, is a shallow inlet in the southwestern South China Sea, bounded between the southwestern shores of the Indochinese Peninsula and the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. It is around in l ...

, and early

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million years ...

alluvial formations in the northwest of Saigon. He also contributed to developing pilot studies in order to build up dams on different rivers ( La Nga, Dông Nai ...) and to explore heavy minerals in dunes of sand, along the eastern coast, and

bauxite Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO(O ...

on basaltic plateaus. On fieldworks, he discovered a

prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

site at Phuoc Tân (on the route to Bà Ria) and unearthed many others (Ngai Thang, Cù lao Rùa, ...). Furthermore, he studied some

archeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...

sites (Dau Giay, Hoà Vinh near Phan Thiêt). In 1971, with

Hoang Thi Than Hoàng Thị Thân (born in 1944 at Phú Cường (Thủ Dâù Một, South Viêt Nam)) is the first woman to graduate from the Department of Geoprofessions, Geological Engineering of Laval University (Quebec, Canada), the first female Vietnamese ge ...

, he discovered a funeral jars site at Phu Hoa (Province of Dông Nai). The sites of Hoà Vinh and Phu Hoà belong to the Sa Huynh Culture. Late 1978, he was officially appointed cooperating expert to the CCOP (Coordinating Committee for Coastal and Offshore Geoscience Programmes in East and Southeast Asia) which is based at

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

(

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

) and supported until 1991 by the United Nations; thereafter it was sponsored by member countries and cooperating countries. From 1973 onwards, the CCOP has conducted a research project entitled "Pre-Tertiary Petroleum Potentials in the CCOP Region" with the support of the French Government which appointed his experts on pre-Tertiary geology and palaeontology to the CCOP.Fontaine, Henri (1990). Ten years of CCOP Research on the pre-Tertiary of East Asia. ''CCOP Technical Publications'' (20), 375p.. Bangkok. Father Fontaine succeeded Mr André Bonnet, another French geologist, and spent many months each year in Asia. He died in l’Haÿ-les-Roses, near Paris, in January 2020 at the age of 95.

Selected bibliography

(See also references) * 1971 - Viet Nam-Kampuchia-Lao, carte géologique = Geological map = Ban do dia chat (Reviewed and completed by H. Fontaine), Insets: Quan Dao Hoang Sa (Paracel) - Quan Dao Truong Sa (Spratly), scale 1:2,000,000, 99x69 cm, 3rd ed. Nat. Geogr. Directorate VN. Dalat (Viet Nam). http://trove.nla.gov.au/version/46282704 * 1973 - (and G. Délibrias) - Ancient marine levels of the Quaternary in Viet Nam. ''Journ. Hong Kong Archeol. Soc''., 4: 29–33. Hong Kong. (Translation: W. Meacham). http://hkjo.lib.hku.hk/archive/files/6535d7b21578a177074b4bde0136d17f. * 1980 - Edmond Saurin (1904–1977), ''Asian Perspectives, 23 (1): 1-8'', Honolulu. http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/handle/10125/16886/AP-v23n1-obit.pdf?sequence=1 * 1980 - On the extent of the Sa Huynh Culture in continental Southeast Asia. ''Asian Perspectives'', 23(1): 67–69. Honolulu. http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/handle/10125/16891/AP-v23n1-67-69.pdf?sequence=1 * 1980 - (and J.H.C.S. Davidson) – The archaeological site of Hoa Vkinh near Phan Thiet, Central Viet Nam. ''Asian Perspectives, 23 (1) : 71-98'', Honolulu. http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/handle/10125/16892/AP-v23n1-71-98.pdf?sequence=1 * 1982 - (and R. Ingavat and D. Vachard) - Carboniferous corals from Northeast Thailand. ''Bull. Geol. Soc. Malaysia, 15: 47-56, 2 pl.'' Kuala Lumpur. http://www.gsm.org.my/products/702001-101187-PDF.pdf * 1984 - (and D.T.Nguyen, D. Vachard, C. Vozenin-Serra). The Permian of Southeast Asia. CCOP Conf. Proc. Ed., 338p. Bangdung (Indonesia). http://trove.nla.gov.au/version/21249670 * * * * * 1989 - (and S. Gafoer) - The pre-Tertiary fossils of Sumatra and their environments. ''22nd Session, CCOP Conf. Proc. Ed.: 356 p.'' Bangkok. http://trove.nla.gov.au/version/7047624 * * 1990 - (and L. Beauvais, M. Caridroit, C. Chonglakmani, P. David, E. Espiritu, S. Gafoer, Y. Jongkanjanasoontorn, H. P. Khoo, S. Lovachalasupaporn, B. Mistiaen, D.T. Nguyen, C. Poumot, B. Sektheera, B. Songsirikul, Suharsono, V. Suteethorn, W. Tantiwanit, V. Tansuwan, D.T. Tong and D. Vachard ) - ''Ten Years of CCOP research on the pre-Tertiary of East Asia. CCOP Techn. Publ., 20: 375 p..'' Bangkok. http://trove.nla.gov.au/version/27183981 * * * Henri Fontaine, N. Sattayarak and V. Suteethorn (1994
Permian corals of Thailand
''CCOP Technical Bull., 24, 171 p. including 31 pl..'' Chishitsu Chōsajo (Japan). * * 1995 - (and Ibrahim B. A.) – Biostratigraphy of the Kinta Valley, Perak. ''Geol. Soc. Malaysia Bull., 38: 159-172, 4 pl.'' http://www.gsm.org.my/products/702001-100916-PDF.pdf * * 1999 - (and Ibrahim B. A. and D. Vachard) – Important discovery of late Early Permian limestone in southern Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia. GEOSEA’1998 Proceedings, ''Bull. Geol. Soc. Malaysia Bull., 43: 455 – 460''. http://www.gsm.org.my/products/702001-100795-PDF.pdf * 1999 - (and S. Salyapongse and D. Vachard) – The Carboniferous of East Thailand – new information from microfossils. GEOSEA’1998 Proceedings, ''Bull. Geol. Soc. Malaysia, Bull., 43: 461 – 465''. http://www.gsm.org.my/products/702001-100794-PDF.pdf * 1999 - (and Bunopas S., J. T. Wasson, P. Vella, H. Fontaine, S. Hada, C. Burrett, T. Supajunya and S. Khositanont) - The Early Quaternary global terrestrial impact of a whole comet in the Australasian tektite field, newest apparent evidences and discoveries from Thailand and East Asia. GEOSEA’1998 Proceedings, ''Geol. Soc. Malaysia Bull., 43: 555 – 575''. http://www.gsm.org.my/products/702001-100784-PDF.pdf * 2000 - (and S. Salayapongse, V. Suteenthorn, D. Vachard) –Widespread occurrence of Triassic Limestones Northwest of Uthai Thani in West Thailand. ''Nat . Hist. Bull. Siam Society, 48: 7 – 19, 13 fig..'' Bangkok. http://www.siamese-heritage.org/nhbsspdf/vol041-050/NHBSS_048_1h_Fontaine_WidespreadOccurr.pdf * * 2003 - (and S. Salayapongse, V. Suteenthorn) - Glimpses into Fossil Assemblages of Thailand: Coral Perspectives. ''Nat . Hist. Bull. Siam Society, 51(1): 37 – 67, 9 fig..'' Bangkok. http://www.siamese-heritage.org/nhbsspdf/vol051-060/NHBSS_051_1h_Fontaine_GlimpsesIntoFoss.pdf * 2005 - (and S. Salayapongse, V. Suteenthorn) - Fossil Biodiversity in the Limestones of Thailand: A Cornucopia of Information about the History of Life. ''Nat . Hist. Bull. Siam Society, 53(1): 33 – 70, 11 fig..'' Bangkok. http://www.siamese-heritage.org/nhbsspdf/vol051-060/NHBSS_053_1h_Fontaine_FossilBiodiversi.pdf * 2007 - (and V. Suteenthorn) - Carboniferous Corals of Pang Mapha District, Northwest Thailand. ''Nat. Hist. Bull. Siam Society, 53(1): 199-221, 13 fig..'' Bangkok. http://www.siamese-heritage.org/nhbsspdf/vol051-060/NHBSS_055_2e_Fontaine_CarboniferousCor.pdf * 2012 - (and S. Kavinate, T. T. Hoang, and D. Vachard) - Permian Limestone of Peninsular and Western Thailand in Khao Yoi, Chaam and Thong Pha Phum Areas. ''Nat. Hist. Bull. Siam Society, 58: 39-47, 6 fig..'' Bangkok. http://www.siamese-heritage.org/nhbsspdf/vol051-060/NHBSS_058_1k_Fontaine_PermianLimestone.pdf *

References

External links

Asian Perspectives

Committee for Geoscience Programmes in East and Southeast Asia

Geological Survey of Malaysia

Missions étrangères de Paris

Natural History Bulletin of the Siam Society

National Library of Australia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fontaine, Henri 1924 births 2020 deaths 21st-century French archaeologists French expatriates in Vietnam 20th-century French geologists French Roman Catholic missionaries 20th-century French archaeologists 21st-century French scientists