Raoul Mesnier du Ponsard (
São Nicolau,
Porto
Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
, 2 April 1848 —
Inhambane
Inhambane, also known as Terra de Boa Gente (''Land of Good People''), is a city located in southern Mozambique, lying on Inhambane Bay, 470 km northeast of Maputo. It is the capital of the Inhambane Province and according to the 2017 census ...
,
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
26 May 1914) was a Portuguese engineer of French parentage, known for building many elevators and funiculars in Portugal. He is particularly known for his engineering work on Lisbon landmarks the
Santa Justa Lift
The Santa Justa Lift ( pt, Elevador de Santa Justa, ), also called Carmo Lift ( pt, Elevador do Carmo, ), is an elevator, or lift, in the civil parish of Santa Justa, in the historic center of Lisbon, Portugal. Situated at the end of ''Rua de S ...
, the
Ascensor da Glória
The Glória Funicular ( pt, Ascensor da Glória), sometimes known as the ''Elevador da Glória'' (''Glória Lift''), is a funicular railway line in the civil parish of Santo António, in the municipality of Lisbon, Portugal. It connects the Pomb ...
, the
Ascensor da Bica
The Bica Funicular ( pt, Ascensor da Bica), sometimes known as the ''Elevador da Bica'' (''Bica Lift''), is a funicular railway line in the civil parish of Misericórdia, in the municipality of Lisbon, Portugal. It connects the ''Rua de São Pau ...
, and the
Ascensor do Lavra, as well as the
Bom Jesus do Monte Funicular
The Bom Jesus do Monte Funicular ( pt, Elevador do Bom Jesus do Monte), is a Portuguese funicular transport in civil parish of Nogueiró e Tenões, in the municipality of Braga, in the district of the same name. Operated by the Irmandade de Bom ...
in
Braga
Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...
.
Early life
Mesnier was the son of French parents Jacques Robert Mesnier de Ponsard and Marie Élodie Ronson;
his father worked in Braga at its gas company.
He had an older brother, Pedro Gastão, born in 1846, who became a diplomatic aide.
He studied at the Liceu do Porto and later mathematics and philosophy at the
University of Coimbra
The University of Coimbra (UC; pt, Universidade de Coimbra, ) is a Public university, public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coi ...
. Following his degree, he apprenticed in mechanical engineering at shops in France, Germany and Switzerland. Returning to Portugal, in 1871 he married Sofia Adelaide Ferreira Pinto Basto in
Porto
Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
on 3 September.
Engineering work
As an engineer on various public works, Mesnier directed the construction of the
Bom Jesus do Monte Funicular
The Bom Jesus do Monte Funicular ( pt, Elevador do Bom Jesus do Monte), is a Portuguese funicular transport in civil parish of Nogueiró e Tenões, in the municipality of Braga, in the district of the same name. Operated by the Irmandade de Bom ...
in
Braga
Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...
(the oldest in the Iberian Peninsula) and designed the original
Guindais funicular in
Porto
Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
. Following the success of the Bom Jesus Funicular, he became involved with various transport projects in
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
that still operate: the
Ascensor do Lavra, the
Ascensor da Glória
The Glória Funicular ( pt, Ascensor da Glória), sometimes known as the ''Elevador da Glória'' (''Glória Lift''), is a funicular railway line in the civil parish of Santo António, in the municipality of Lisbon, Portugal. It connects the Pomb ...
, the
Ascensor da Bica
The Bica Funicular ( pt, Ascensor da Bica), sometimes known as the ''Elevador da Bica'' (''Bica Lift''), is a funicular railway line in the civil parish of Misericórdia, in the municipality of Lisbon, Portugal. It connects the ''Rua de São Pau ...
and the
Santa Justa Lift
The Santa Justa Lift ( pt, Elevador de Santa Justa, ), also called Carmo Lift ( pt, Elevador do Carmo, ), is an elevator, or lift, in the civil parish of Santa Justa, in the historic center of Lisbon, Portugal. Situated at the end of ''Rua de S ...
. Other of his works were decommissioned in later years: the lifts at Biblioteca and Chiado, and the cable-cars serving Graça, Estrela, and São Sebastião. Outside of Lisbon, Mesnier built the
Nazaré Funicular
The Nazaré Funicular ( pt, Ascensor da Nazaré) is a funicular situated in the civil parish of Nazaré, Portugal, municipality of Nazaré, in the Portuguese district of Leiria.
History
From the description of Father Manuel de Brito Alão, t ...
, and the defunct
Comboio do Monte, in Funchal.
left, Graça cable car approaching Arco de Santo Andrė
Mesnier contributed engineering designs for three Lisbon cable-car lines: Graça, Estrela, and São Sebastião. Worldwide, only four cable-car services were ever built outside of Anglophone countries (Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, USA).
Unlike the
San Francisco cable-car lines, Lisbon's did not run on generally wide and straight streets. This required innovative solutions for the engineering problems posed by the geometry. To thread the Arco de Santo Andrė and its hairpin turn up the Calçada da Graça, Mesnier designed a double grip system on the cars to engage a low-tension cable through the turn.
One was used to travel through the turns and the other on the rest of the route.
In 1913, Mesnier made an engineering study for a railway in
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
linking
Inhambane
Inhambane, also known as Terra de Boa Gente (''Land of Good People''), is a city located in southern Mozambique, lying on Inhambane Bay, 470 km northeast of Maputo. It is the capital of the Inhambane Province and according to the 2017 census ...
with Inharrime. Work on the railway took place between 1909-1915, and railway personnel were reported to be on-site in January 1908.
Mesnier may have been at work there at the time of his death.
Other projects
Mesnier published designs for other inventions,
notable amongst which are a revolver (1879), a modified carbine breech loading mechanism (1879), a repeating rifle (1879 & 1880), and a mechanical calculating machine called the ''Aritmotecno'' (1882).
In 1903, a syndicate that included Mesnier petitioned for a concession
to build an
aerial cableway
An aerial tramway, sky tram, cable car, ropeway, aerial tram, telepherique, or seilbahn is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion. With this form of lift, the grip ...
system in
São Tomé e Principe to transport goods over its steep terrain and to provide mechanical power to remote locations where needed for industrial work, e.g. logging activity. Mesnier laid out the general advantages for such systems in the article. However, there is no evidence in S. Tomé of its ever being built.
Also in 1903, Mesnier made a bid to the minister of the Navy for a concession to operate an electrically-powered system for ship cargo and train loading and unloading at the port of
Lourenco Marques (Maputo), Mozambique. Included in the project were new jetties to handle deep-draft ships. Pending successful patent awards for the equipment, he hoped to form a company and find investors to build and operate the facility.
Legacy
During his lifetime, Mesnier was acknowledged for his engineering accomplishments in Lisbon. On two separate occasions, transport companies affiliated with him asked him for public announcements of support for their work.
At the time of his death, he was memorialized by an engineering trade journal for his work on the
Santa Justa Lift
The Santa Justa Lift ( pt, Elevador de Santa Justa, ), also called Carmo Lift ( pt, Elevador do Carmo, ), is an elevator, or lift, in the civil parish of Santa Justa, in the historic center of Lisbon, Portugal. Situated at the end of ''Rua de S ...
, particularly.
Rua Raúl Mesnier du Ponsard, in the Lumiar neighborhood of Lisbon, is named after him.
In 2002, Portugal declared four of his engineering works in Lisbon to be
national monuments
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
: the
Santa Justa Lift
The Santa Justa Lift ( pt, Elevador de Santa Justa, ), also called Carmo Lift ( pt, Elevador do Carmo, ), is an elevator, or lift, in the civil parish of Santa Justa, in the historic center of Lisbon, Portugal. Situated at the end of ''Rua de S ...
, the
Ascensor da Glória
The Glória Funicular ( pt, Ascensor da Glória), sometimes known as the ''Elevador da Glória'' (''Glória Lift''), is a funicular railway line in the civil parish of Santo António, in the municipality of Lisbon, Portugal. It connects the Pomb ...
, the
Ascensor da Bica
The Bica Funicular ( pt, Ascensor da Bica), sometimes known as the ''Elevador da Bica'' (''Bica Lift''), is a funicular railway line in the civil parish of Misericórdia, in the municipality of Lisbon, Portugal. It connects the ''Rua de São Pau ...
, and the
Ascensor do Lavra. Outside of Lisbon, the
Elevador do Bom Jesus is also a national monument.
References
1848 births
Portuguese engineers
1914 deaths
Portuguese people of French descent
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