Patrice Bret (born 1949) is a French historian of science and technology and a senior researcher at the Centre Alexandre-Koyré in Paris. His areas of expertise include the

translation Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...

and circulation of scientific and technical knowledge through communities in the 18th century, the technology and history of

armaments A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...

in the 18th-20th centuries, and science and technology under colonisation (e.g.

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's Egypt Expedition). Bret has served as director of research at the

Centre national de la recherche scientifique The French National Centre for Scientific Research (french: link=no, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science Basic research, also called pure research o ...

(CNRS), scientific head of the Centre des hautes études de l'Armement (CHEAr), scientific director of the L'Institut de recherche stratégique de l'École militaire (IRSEM), secretary general of the Comité National Francais d'Histoire et de Philosophie des Sciences (CNFHPS), and secretary general of the Comité Lavoisier of the

French Academy of Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV of France, Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific me ...

Education

Patrice Bret attended the

University of Provence The University of Provence Aix-Marseille I (french: Université de Provence) was a public research university mostly located in Aix-en-Provence and Marseille. It was one of the three Universities of Aix-Marseille and was part of the Academy of ...

, where he received his Bachelor's degree in history (1970) and his Master's degree (1971). He received a Diploma of Political Studies from the

Institut d'études politiques d'Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...

in 1973. In 1975, he passed the History and Geography CAPES Exam, a competitive teaching examination. In 1980 he received a Degree in Art History and Archeology from the Pantheon-Sorbonne University. In 1989, he received a

Diplôme d'études approfondies A Master of Advanced Studies or Master of Advanced Study (MAS, M.A.S., or MASt) is a postgraduate degree awarded in various countries. Master of Advanced Studies programs may be non-consecutive programs tailored for "specific groups of working pro ...

(DEA) in history from the Pantheon-Sorbonne University. He also qualified to teach computer science as of 1991. In 1994, he received his Doctorate in History from the Pantheon-Sorbonne University.

Career

From 2003 until his retirement in 2012, Patrice Bret was a research associate in the department of history in the Centre Alexandre-Koyré (UMR 8560) of the Centre de Recherche en Histoire des Sciences et des Techniques (CRHST), a laboratory of the

École des hautes études en sciences sociales The School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (french: École des hautes études en sciences sociales; EHESS) is a graduate ''grande école'' and '' grand établissement'' in Paris focused on academic research in the social sciences. The ...

(EHESS), the

(CNRS) and the

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...

in Paris. He also served as director of research at CNRS. Bret continues to be an honorary researcher at the Centre Alexandre-Koyré. From 2003-2009, he served as scientific head of the Centre des hautes études de l'Armement (CHEAr). CHEAr became part of the

Institut des hautes études de défense nationale The ''Institut des hautes études de défense nationale'' (IHEDN) (Institute of Advanced Studies in National Defence) is a French public academic institution for research, education and promotion of expertise and sensitization towards defence matte ...

in the

École Militaire École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

as of 2010. From 2009-2012, Bret was the scientific director of L'Institut de recherche stratégique de l'École militaire (IRSEM) of the

(IHEDN) in the

. Bret has been a member of the French National Committee of History and Philosophy of Sciences (Comité National Francais d'Histoire et de Philosophie des Sciences, CNFHPS) since 1996, and served as its Secretary General. He has been a member of the Comité Lavoisier of the

since 1987, and served as its Secretary General since 1993. The preservation and publication of Lavoisier's correspondence and physical papers is a major goal of the Comité Lavoisier. Bret has edited volumes VI (1789–1791) and VII (1792–1794) of the correspondence of

Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier ( , ; ; 26 August 17438 May 1794),
CNRS (

On 22 May 2018 a research symposium was held in honor of Patrice Bret, at the Alexandre Koyré Center, on the role of science and technology in societies of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Publications

Patrice Bret has published extensively. His books include ''L'expedition d'Egypte, une enterprise des Lumieres, 1798-1801'' (1998), ''L'État, l'armée, la science. L'invention de la recherche publique en France (1763-1830)'' (2002), ''Savants et inventeurs entre la gloire et l’oubli'' (2014), ''Madame d'Arconville, 1720-1805 une femme de lettres et de sciences au siècle des Lumières'' (2011, with Brigitte Van Tiggelen) and ''Femmes de sciences de l'Antiquité au XIXe siècle réalités et représentations'' (2014, with Adeline Gargam). He has edited several volumes of the published correspondence of

Antoine Lavoisier Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier ( , ; ; 26 August 17438 May 1794), When reduced without charcoal, it gave off an air which supported respiration and combustion in an enhanced way. He concluded that this was just a pure form of common air and th ...

. He is particularly interested in the role of translation and women translators in scientific communities. He has been involved in publishing the correspondence of

Guyton de Morveau Louis-Bernard Guyton, Baron de Morveau (also Louis-Bernard Guyton-Morveau after the French Revolution; 4 January 1737 – 2 January 1816) was a French chemist, politician, and aeronaut. He is credited with producing the first systematic method o ...

, and is researching translator Claudine Picardet. ''A Scientific Correspondence during the Chemical Revolution: Louis-Bernard Guyton de Morveau and Richard Kirwan, 1782-1802'', has been described as "a splendidly executed work of its sort. Bret has served on the editorial boards of a number of journals, including ''Artefact. Techniques, histoire et sciences humaines'' (Paris, 2012-) and ''Vulcan. Journal for the Social History of Military Technology (Washington, 2009-).

Awards

* 2018, Franklin-Lavoisier Prize, received by Patrice Bret as general secretary of the Comité Lavoisier on behalf of the Comité Lavoisier, from the Science History Institute and the Fondation de la Maison de la Chimie * 2007, member, Académie internationale d’histoire des sciences (AIHS) * 2007, Chevalier dans l’Ordre national des Palmes académiques * 2002, Médaille Montgolfier,

Société d’encouragement pour l’industrie nationale Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA. Lactalis is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the sec ...

* 1997, Le Prix Jean-Édouard Goby,

Institut de France The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute m ...

(

Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the Institut de France. The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions ( epig ...

Académie des sciences morales et politiques An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bret, Patrice Living people 1949 births Historians of science 20th-century French historians 21st-century French historians