Jean Alexander Heinrich Clapier de Colongue (russian: Ivan Petrovich de-Kolong; Иван Петрович де-Колонг; lv, Johans Aleksandrs Heinrihs Klapje de Kolongs) (–) was a

Baltic German Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...

marine engineer Marine engineering is the engineering of boats, ships, submarines, and any other marine vessel. Here it is also taken to include the engineering of other ocean systems and structures – referred to in certain academic and professional circl ...

and founder of a theory of

magnetic deviation Magnetic deviation is the error induced in a compass by ''local'' magnetic fields, which must be allowed for, along with magnetic declination, if accurate bearings are to be calculated. (More loosely, "magnetic deviation" is used by some to mean ...

for magnetic

compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself wit ...

es, living and working in Imperial Russia.

Biography

Ivan Petrovich de Collong was born in 1839 in

Dünaburg Daugavpils (; russian: Двинск; ltg, Daugpiļs ; german: Dünaburg, ; pl, Dyneburg; see other names) is a state city in south-eastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. The parts of the ...

(now Daugavpils) into a

noble family Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteris ...

originally of Franco-Portuguese origin. He studied at the

Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. See also * Military academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally pro ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

and from 1870 he worked there as a lecturer. Starting in 1878 he was head of the Navy's Main

Hydrographical Hydrography is the branch of applied sciences which deals with the measurement and description of the physical features of oceans, seas, coastal areas, lakes and rivers, as well as with the prediction of their change over time, for the primary ...

Administration. In 1875, he constructed a ''deflector'' (a new type of compass baffle) and later improved upon its design. De Collong was a Corresponding Member of the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across ...

(from 1896) and a

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

of the

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from ...

. He was awarded the Lomonosov Prize of the

References

External links

Memoirs of

Alexei Krylov , birth_date = O.S. (August 15, 1863 N.S.) , death_date = , image = Alexey Krylov 1910s.JPG , image_size = 200px , caption = Official portrait (1910) , birth_place = Alatyrsky uezd of Simbirsk Gubernia, Russian ...

Genealogy handbook of Baltic nobility
Clapier de Colongue's 1839 births 1901 deaths People from Daugavpils People from Dvinsky Uyezd Baltic-German people People from the Russian Empire of French descent Russian people of Portuguese descent Russian inventors Russian engineers Imperial Russian Navy personnel Marine engineers Corresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences {{Russia-mil-bio-stub