Jean du Chatelet, also known as Baron de Beausoleil and Auffembach (1578, Brabant – c. 1645, The

Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stor ...

, Paris), was a

mineralogist Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proce ...

mining engineer Mining in the engineering discipline is the extraction of minerals from underneath, open pit, above or on the ground. Mining engineering is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, and ...

and

dowser Dowsing is a type of divination employed in attempts to locate ground water, buried metals or ores, gemstones, Petroleum, oil, claimed radiations (radiesthesia),As translated from one preface of the Kassel experiments, "roughly 10,000 active do ...

Life

After an early career as a soldier, du Chatelet became enthused with the study of minerals and undertook a tour of Europe visiting mines in Germany, Hungary, Bohemia, Tyrol, Silesia, Moravia, Poland, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Scotland, and England. Through his extensive research he gained an unequaled expertise in mining and minerals. The German emperors Rudolph and Matthias appointed him Commissary General of the Hungarian mines. In 1610 he married Martine Bertereau, the educated daughter of a noble family of French mine owners who accompanied him on his tours and at his work underground. The instruments and methods that the couple employed in their mineral exploration have led to his being associated with

dowsing Dowsing is a type of divination employed in attempts to locate ground water, buried metals or ores, gemstones, oil, claimed radiations ( radiesthesia),As translated from one preface of the Kassel experiments, "roughly 10,000 active dowsers in ...

astrology Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...

and

alchemy Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...

. From around 1600 du Chatelet had undertaken a commission from the King of France to prospect within France and develop mines there. The semi-occult methods he used brought him a brush with the ecclesiastical authorities in 1627 while in Brittany. He and his wife were forced to flee to Germany and lost much of their records and equipment in the process. They returned to France in 1630 to continue their work under a new French King,

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 ...

.Curiosities of Olden Times
S. Baring-Gould, Kessinger Publishing, (2004) Page 154, During all his work for the French state, du Chatelet had never received payment and in 1640 in a precarious financial state his wife Martine wrote the ''Restitution of Pluto'' a Latin poem asking for payment and sent rather rashly to Cardinal Richelieu. They received no reply but the charges of sorcery were resurrected and they were both imprisoned - he in the

and she in the Castle of Vincennes. Both died in prison, he around 1645 and she in 1642.

References

Deux "mineurs" spoliés et emprisonnés ou "la Restitution de Pluton" (1640) par Madame la Baronne de Beausoleil
Pierre Routhier, Travaux du COFRHIGEO, 1987

Bibliography

* ''Les Anciens Minéralogistes du royaume de France'', Nicolas Godet, Ruault, Paris, 1779 * ''Biographie universelle ancienne et moderne'', Michaud, Paris, 1843 {{DEFAULTSORT:Chatelet, Jean du 17th-century French scientists 1578 births 1645 deaths Dutch mineralogists Dowsing 17th-century Dutch scientists