Pierre Jean-Baptiste Rousseau (11 February 1905 – 1983) was a French

essayist An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...

epistemologist Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Episte ...

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...

and

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

who authored numerous popular science essays and articles. He helped promote

hard science Hard science and soft science are colloquial terms used to compare scientific fields on the basis of perceived methodological rigor, exactitude, and objectivity. Roughly speaking, the formal sciences & natural sciences are considered "hard", wher ...

to the general public and advocated the development of fundamental scientific research in a "post-war

disenchantment In social science, disenchantment (german: Entzauberung) is the cultural rationalization and devaluation of religion apparent in modern society. The term was borrowed from Friedrich Schiller by Max Weber to describe the character of a moderni ...

Biography

Early years

The son of

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

assistant Jean-Baptiste Rousseau and Marie Renée Lefort, he was the oldest of three brothers. One of his brothers, René, died at the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

and the other, Jean, volunteered as an airborne radio-operator in the

Free French Forces __NOTOC__ The French Liberation Army (french: Armée française de la Libération or AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (french: Forces françaises libres, l ...

before pursuing a career at

Air France Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global air ...

. Rousseau was drawn to science as a child through reading a popular astronomy collection published by

Théophile Moreux Théophile Moreux (20 November 1867 – 13 July 1954) was a French astronomer and meteorologist. Life Moreux was born at Argent-sur-Sauldre, Cher on 20 November 1867. He initiated the Bourges Observatory at the seminary St Célestin at Bourges, ...

. A gifted student in mathematics who received departmental and national bursaries in 1918 and 1920, Rousseau built his first telescope at the age of 13 and published his first scientific paper at 17. With the help of

Jean Becquerel Jean Antoine Edmond Marie Becquerel (5 February 1878 – 4 July 1953) was a French physicist, the son of Antoine-Henri Becquerel. He worked on a range of experimental physics topics including magnetic effects on the optical properties of materials ...

, he was appointed Assistant Boarding Master at the

Montargis Montargis () is a communes of France, commune in the Loiret Departments of France, department, Centre-Val de Loire, France. Montargis is the seventh most populous commune in the Loiret, after Orléans and its suburbs. It is near a large forest, ...

middle school in 1923. Despite his repeated attempts to be transferred to a city with a university in order to prepare his degree, Rousseau lived for several years between

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau (; ) is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the ''arrondissement ...

Blois Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours. With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the most populated city of the ...

and

Vendôme Vendôme (, ) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Departments of France, department of Loir-et-Cher, France. It is also the department's third-biggest Communes of France, commune with 15,856 inhabitants (2019). It is one of the ...

. After obtaining his first degree in General Mathematics in 1929, he was transferred to Paris at the

Lycée Charlemagne The Lycée Charlemagne is located in the Marais quarter of the 4th arrondissement of Paris, the capital city of France. Constructed many centuries before it became a lycée, the building originally served as the home of the Order of the Jesuit ...

and briefly to the

Lycée Janson-de-Sailly Lycée Janson de Sailly is a ''lycée'' located in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. The ''lycéens'' of Janson are called ''les jansoniens'' and they usually refer to their high school as Janson, or JdS. It is the biggest academic ins ...

before becoming assistant teacher at the

Lycée Buffon The Lycée Buffon is a secondary school in the XVe arrondissement of Paris, bordered by boulevard Pasteur, the rue de Vaugirard and the rue de Staël. Its nearest métro station is Pasteur. It is named for Georges-Louis Leclerc, comte de Buffo ...

. Rousseau then fulfilled his military obligation in 1931. Certified in Advanced Astronomy in March 1932, he obtained two distinct degrees in Philosophy (Psychology, Morals and Sociology) and in Mathematics and Physics in 1935.

First publications

While working toward his university degrees, Rousseau covered scientific news in several newspapers. His most significant articles were published in ''

La Nature ''La Nature'' (English: ''Nature'') was a French language magazine aimed at the popularization of science established in 1873 by French scientist and adventurer Gaston Tissandier. The magazine also received an enormous amount of time, effort, a ...

'', a popular science magazine founded in 1873 by

Gaston Tissandier Gaston Tissandier (November 21, 1843 – August 30, 1899) was a French chemist, meteorologist, aviator, and editor. He escaped besieged Paris by balloon in September 1870. He founded and edited the scientific magazine ''La Nature'' and wrote se ...

. His experience as a popular writer fed his future works. His scientific columns earned him a significant number of letters from his readers.

Astronomy

When asked to transfer to the Lycée Félix Faure of

Beauvais Beauvais ( , ; pcd, Bieuvais) is a city and commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise département, in the Hauts-de-France region, north of Paris. The commune of Beauvais had a population of 56,020 , making it the most populous ...

in 1935, Rousseau resigned from the Éducation Nationale without hesitation to join the

Meudon Observatory The Paris Observatory (french: Observatoire de Paris ), a research institution of the Paris Sciences et Lettres University, is the foremost astronomical observatory of France, and one of the largest astronomical centers in the world. Its histor ...

as "Astronome Stagiaire au Service du Méridien" ("''Trainee Astronomer at the Meridian Study''"). At the time, French astronomy was under-developed compared to other western nations at the time (namely

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

North American North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Ca ...

and

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

). The total staff of astronomers barely reached 150 in France, and the modernization project of the observatory, set in the

Château de Meudon Meudon Castle, also known as the Royal Castle of Meudon or Imperial Palace of Meudon, is a French castle located in Meudon in the Hauts-de-Seine department. At the edge of a wooded plateau, the castle offers views of Paris and the Seine, as we ...

had just started; feeders and racks of the stables where the laboratories were installed had not yet been removed. Observatoire 2 Grande Coupole

Audouin Dollfus Audouin Charles Dollfus (12 November 1924 – 1 October 2010) was a French astronomer and aeronaut, specialist in studies of the Solar System and discoverer of Janus, a moon of Saturn. Life and career Dollfus was born in Paris to aeronaut Charl ...

, one of the most eminent astronomer in France, son of Charles Dollfus (creator of the Musée de l'Air and Honorary Astronomer at the Paris Observatory), remembers Pierre Rousseau as a young astronomer: "Before the War, we were only a fistful. Pierre Rousseau was a modest person, almost too modest, deep, an excellent writer and an excellent popularizer. His books on astronomy are admirable! I read them avidly. To illustrate his ''Mars, Mysterious Earth'', I think he obtained the images from the telescope of

Antoniadi Eugène Michel Antoniadi (Greek: Ευγένιος Αντωνιάδης; 1 March 1870 – 10 February 1944) was a Greek- French astronomer. Biography Antoniadi was born in Istanbul (Constantinople) but spent most of his adult life in Franc ...

himself." In 1939, Rousseau was enlisted and stationed in an artillery battery unit in

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...

. He writes in ''Le monde des étoiles'' (''The World of Stars'' - 1950); "Combien de fois l’auteur de ce livre ne l’a-t-il pas contemplé upiter.�� pendant la dernière guerre, avec la modeste « binoculaire » de sa batterie ?" (''How many times the author of this book contemplated, during the last war,

upiter U-Piter (russian: Ю-Питер, links=no) was a Russian rock music, rock band from Saint-Petersburg. The group was formed by Vyacheslav Butusov in 2001. The group disbanded in 2017. Members Final line-up * Vyacheslav Butusov () - lead vocals ...

with his modest binoculars ?''). His first book on astronomy (''L'Exploration du Ciel'' - ''Sky Exploration'') was published the same year, at 8.0000 copies. It shows, early on, Rousseau's distinctive love for anecdotes and a particular care to underline the work of scientists and the importance of the history of science. While focusing particularly on astronomy and related sciences, he was also interested in

epistemology Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Episte ...

astronautics Astronautics (or cosmonautics) is the theory and practice of travel beyond Earth's atmosphere into outer space. Spaceflight is one of its main applications and space science its overarching field. The term ''astronautics'' (originally ''astronaut ...

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

nuclear physics Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...

, and

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...

. His last book, ''L'avenir de la Terre'' (''The Future of Earth'') was published in 1977 by Nouvelles Éditions Latines.

Later life

Through the 1950s and 1960s, Rousseau continued his work as a science journalist and popular science writer. His works were translated in several languages and have inspired some of his readers to become astronomers. With his multiple experiences in various scientific domains and the history of science, Rousseau presented himself as a witness of the evolution of scientific progress in the eyes of the public opinion. After the publication of his last essay, ''The Future Earth'', he suffered a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

at the end of the 1970s. Rousseau then progressively lost his physical and intellectual capacities until his death.

Works

This list includes only the works published in France and a few foreign publications. The list and collection of his work for newspapers and magazines (''

La Revue de Paris ''Revue de Paris'' was a French literary magazine founded in 1829 by Louis-Désiré Véron Louis-Désiré Véron (1798 in Paris – September 27, 1867 in Paris) was a French opera manager and publisher. Biography Véron originally made his ...

'', '' Historia'', ''

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...

'', ''L’œuvre'', ''Marianne'', ''

Le Petit Parisien ''Le Petit Parisien'' was a prominent French newspaper during the French Third Republic. It was published between 1876 and 1944, and its circulation was over two million after the First World War. Publishing Despite its name, the paper was circu ...

'', ''La Petite Gironde'', ''

Science et Vie ''Science & Vie'' (; ''Science and Life'') is a monthly science magazine published in France. Its headquarters is in Paris. History and profile The magazine was started in 1913 with the name ''La Science et la Vie''. In 1982, a spinoff computer m ...

'') are difficult to obtain in its integrity, and are therefore not listed here. With the exception of

Que sais-je? "Que sais-je?" (QSJ) (; Literally: "What do I know?", ) is an editorial collection published by the Presses universitaires de France (PUF). The aim of the series is to provide the lay reader with an accessible introduction to a field of study wr ...

, the works of Rousseau are not available in public libraries.

French editions

* 1939: ''Exploration du ciel'', Hachette * 1941: ''Mars, Terre mystérieuse'', Hachette * 1941: ''Pour comprendre l’astrophysique'', Librairie Douin et Cie (Préface de l’

Abbé Moreux ''Abbé'' (from Latin ''abbas'', in turn from Greek , ''abbas'', from Aramaic ''abba'', a title of honour, literally meaning "the father, my father", emphatic state of ''abh'', "father") is the French word for an abbot. It is the title for lowe ...

) * 1941: ''De l’atome à l’étoile'', ''Que sais-je ?'' 2, PUF * 1941: ''L’astronomie sans télescope'', ''Que sais-je ?'' 13, PUF * 1942: ''La Lumière'', ''Que sais-je ?'' 48, PUF * 1942: ''Histoire de la vitesse'', ''Que sais-je ?'' 88, PUF * 1943: ''Notre amie, la Lune'', Hachette * 1945: ''Histoire de la Science'', Fayard * 1946: ''La conquête de la science'', Fayard * 1947: ''La Terre, ma patrie'', Fayard * 1948: ''Histoire de l’atome'', Fayard * 1949: ''Histoire de la Terre. I, L’homme avant l’histoire'' and ''Histoire de la Terre. II, Jeunesse de la Terre'' NEL (2 tomes) * 1950: ''L’énergie'', Fayard * 1950: ''Jean-François, astronome'', Hachette * 1950: ''Le monde des étoiles'', Hachette * 1952: ''Notre soleil'', Hachette * 1951: ''Découverte du ciel - L’Homme devant les étoiles. Tomme 1'', NEL * 1952: ''Jean-François, électricien'', Hachette * 1952: ''L’astronomie nouvelle'', Fayard * 1953: ''Au cœur de la Terre'', Hachette * 1954: ''La science au XXème siècle'', Hachette * 1955: ''Exploration du ciel'', Hachette * 1955: ''Glaciers et torrents - Energie et lumière'', Hachette * 1956: ''A la conquête des étoiles'', Hachette * 1956: ''Histoire des techniques et des inventions'', Prix Maujean 1957 (Académie française) * 1957: ''Le monde des étoiles'', Hachette * 1957: ''Satellites artificiels'', Hachette * 1959: ''L’astronomie'', Livre de poche, Livre de Poche (Librairie générale française) * 1959: ''Histoire de l’avenir'', Hachette, Prix Nautilus 1960 * 1961: ''Ces inconnus ont fait le siècle'', Hachette, Prix de l’Aventure industrielle et scientifique * 1961: ''Les profondeurs de la terre- Encyclopédie par l'image'', Hachette * 1961: ''Les tremblements de terre'', Hachette * 1961: ''Histoire des transports'', Fayard, Prix Thérouanne 1962 (Académie française) * 1962: ''L’Univers et les frontières de la vie'', Hachette * 1963: ''Voyage au bout de la science'', Hachette, Prix Auguste Furtado 1964 (Académie française) * 1964: ''La science du vingtième siècle'', Hachette (réédition couronnée par le Prix Jean Macé) * 1963: ''La lune, terre d’avenir'', Hachette (refonte de ''Notre amie la Lune'') * 1963: ''Voyage au bout de la science'', Hachette * 1964: ''L’astronautique'', Hachette * 1965: ''L'invention est une aventure'', Hachette * 1967: ''Explication des paysages de France (La route Paris-Hendaye)'', Hachette,

Prix Broquette-Gonin The prix Broquette-Gonin was a former prize awarded by the Académie française. It rewarded four disciplines: history, literature, philosophy and poetry. A separate prize was awarded by subject. Prix Broquette-Gonin (history) The prix Broque ...

(literature) 1968 * 1971: ''Histoire de l’avenir'', Hachette * 1971: ''Le monde de l’électricité'', Hachette * 1974: ''Survol de la science française contemporaine'', Fayard * 1977: ''L’avenir de la Terre'', NEL:

Some foreign editions

This list does not include publications in the Eastern countries. * 1949: ''La conquista de la ciencia'', Barcelona Éditions Destino * 1956: ''Astronomia senza telescopio'', Milano, Garzanti, collection ''Saper tutto'' 72, translated by Lea Magazzari * 1959: ''Man's Conquest of the Stars'', 1st American Edition DJ Shelfworn. * 1959: ''Man's Conquest of the Stars'', Jarrolds London, translated from French by

Michael Bullock Michael Hale Bullock (19 April 1918 – 18 July 2008) was a British poet, novelist and translator. He was born in London and studied at the Hornsey College of Art. He went to Canada in 1968 as a Commonwealth Fellow at the University of British Col ...

* 1959: ''Moderne uitvindingen, de techniek in de 20ste eeuw'', Utrecht, spectrum 431 * 1960: ''Sie prägten unsere Zeit - Die unbekannten Wegbereiter der modernen Technik'', Bechtel - Verlag München * 1960: ''Geschichte der Zukunft'', Paul List Verlag München * 1961: ''Man's Conquest of the Stars'', WW Norton, NY * 1965: ''Os tremores de terra'', Lisboa Editorial Verbo * 19xx: ''História das Técnicas e das Invenções'' * 1967: ''The Limits Of Science'', Scientific Book Club * 1971: ''La vida extraterrestre'', Éditions Bruguera {{DEFAULTSORT:Rousseau, Pierre 1905 births 1983 deaths 20th-century French journalists 20th-century French astronomers People from Indre-et-Loire Winners of the Prix Broquette-Gonin (literature)