Edme Mentelle (11 October 1730 - 28 April 1816) was a French geographer.

Biography

Student of

Jean-Baptiste Louis Crévier Jean-Baptiste Louis Crévier (1693–1765) was a French author. He was born in Paris, where his father was a printer. He studied under Rollin, and held the professorship of rhetoric in the college of Beauvais for twenty years. He completed Rollin' ...

at the

Collège de Beauvais The College of Beauvais (also known the College of Dormans-Beauvais) was in Paris in what is now the Rue Jean de Beauvais. At the end of the 17th century and at the beginning of the 18th century, it was one of the leading schools of France, educ ...

(at the time a constituent college of the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

), he found employment with the ''

Ferme générale The ''ferme générale'' (, "general farm") was, in ''ancien régime'' France, essentially an outsourced customs, excise and indirect tax operation. It collected duties on behalf of the King (plus hefty bonus fees for themselves), under renewable ...

''. The poems and comedic plays he published early in his career were not successful. He turned to the study of geography and taught geography at 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 ...

'' during the 1760s. During the 1780s he taught geography to the royal household and in 1786 designed a globe, which is still on display in the Dauphin's apartments at the

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 19 ...

. A supporter of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, he taught at the '' Écoles centrales'' and at the ''

École Normale Supérieure 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 ...

''. He was elected to the

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 ...

in 1795. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mentelle, Edme University of Paris faculty 1730 births 1816 deaths Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery French geographers French cartographers