Jacques Ancel (22 July 1879 in Parmain,

Val-d'Oise Val-d'Oise (, "Vale of the Oise") is a department in the Île-de-France region, Northern France. It was created in 1968 following the split of the Seine-et-Oise department. In 2019, Val-d'Oise had a population of 1,249,674.

geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...

and geopolitician. He is author of several books, including ''Peoples and Nations of Balkans: political geography'' (1926) and ''Geopolitics'' (1936). After studying history and geography and professing as a teacher, Ancel was drafted to fight in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Wounded three times, he was detached to the Headquarters of the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...

's Oriental Corps (fighting in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

and the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

). After the war, he helped mediate the tense relations between

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

and

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

. In 1930, Ancel obtained his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

with the thesis ''La Macédoine, étude de colonisation contemporaine'' (" Macedonia, a study in contemporary colonization"). He taught at 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 ...

Institute of Higher International Studies The Institute of Higher International Studies (french: Institut des hautes études internationales, commonly referred to as "IHEI") is a public institution of research and higher education in Paris, France. It was founded in 1921 by Paul Fauchille ...

, and was a corresponding member of the Romanian Academy and of other scientific forums. He was a knight of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

Works

*1901, ''Une page inédite de Saint-Simon'' *1902, ''La Formation de la colonie du Congo Français (1843–1882)'', Paris, Bulletin du Comité de l'Afrique Française *1919, ''L'unité de la politique bulgare, 1870–1919'', Editions Bossard *1921, ''Les Travaux et les jours de l'Armée d'Orient. 1915–1918'' *1923, ''Manuel historique de la question d'Orient (1792–1923)'', Delagrave *1926, ''Peuples et nations des Balkans'' (réédité par CTHS en 1992) *1929, ''Histoire contemporaine depuis le milieu du XIXe siècle'' (avec la collaboration d'Henri Calvet). ''Manuel de politique européenne, histoire diplomatique de l'Europe (1871–1914)'', PUF *1930, ''La Macédoine, étude de colonisation contemporaine'' *1936, ''Géopolitique'', Paris, Delagrave *1938, ''Géographie des frontières'', préface d' André Siegfried, Paris, Gallimard *1940, ''Manuel Géographique de politique européenne. 2. L'Allemagne'', Paris, Delagrave *1945, ''Slaves et Germains'', Paris, Librairie Armand Colin, 1945. 1879 births 1942 deaths People from Val-d'Oise French geographers 20th-century French historians French military personnel of World War I Geopoliticians Corresponding members of the Romanian Academy Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur French male non-fiction writers {{Geographer-stub