Pierre Louis Antoine Cordier (31 March 1777 – 30 March 1861)
Annales.org, accessed 20 September 2009 was a French

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

and

mineralogist Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proces ...

, and a founder of the French Geological Society. He was professor of geology at the

Muséum national d'histoire naturelle The French National Museum of Natural History, known in French as the ' (abbreviation MNHN), is the national natural history museum of France and a ' of higher education part of Sorbonne Universities. The main museum, with four galleries, is loc ...

in Paris from 1819 to 1861, and was responsible for the development of the geological gallery in the museum.

Family

Cordier was born in

Abbeville Abbeville (, vls, Abbekerke, pcd, Advile) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the chef-lieu of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of ...

in 1777 to a family of English origin.Cordier Collection at the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle
mnhn.fr, (in French)
English translation
accessed 21 September 2009 In 1817 he married Cécile Borgella, a niece and pupil of

Louis Ramond de Carbonnières Louis François Élisabeth Ramond, baron de Carbonnières (4 January 1755 Strasbourg – 14 May 1827), was a French politician, geologist and botanist. He is regarded as one of the first explorers of the high mountains of the Pyrenees who can be d ...

. Together they had four sons and six daughters.

Career

Cordier entered the École des mines in 1794 and followed the well-known courses of

Louis Nicolas Vauquelin Prof. Louis Nicolas Vauquelin Royal Society of London, FRS(For) HFRSE (16 May 1763 – 14 November 1829) was a French pharmacist and chemist. He was the discoverer of both chromium and beryllium. Early life Vauquelin was born at Saint-André-d'H ...

(1763–1829),

René Just Haüy René Just Haüy () FRS MWS FRSE (28 February 1743 – 1 June 1822) was a French priest and mineralogist, commonly styled the Abbé Haüy after he was made an honorary canon of Notre Dame. Due to his innovative work on crystal structure and hi ...

(1743–1822) and

Déodat Gratet de Dolomieu Dieudonné Sylvain Guy Tancrède de Gratet de Dolomieu usually known as Déodat de Dolomieu (; 23 June 175028 November 1801) was a French geologist. The mineral and the rock Dolomite (rock), dolomite and the largest summital crater on the Piton d ...

(1750–1801). He gained his "diplôme d’ingénieur" in 1797 and followed Dolomieu first on an expedition to the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

, then as a scientist on

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 expedition to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

from 1798 to 1799. Arriving in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

, Cordier immediately began his researches into the country's mineralogy and geology, with particular focus on the formation of the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...

valley. On Dolomieu's taking ill, both of them attempted to return to France. Although Cordier was taken prisoner in

Taranto Taranto (, also ; ; nap, label= Tarantino, Tarde; Latin: Tarentum; Old Italian: ''Tarento''; Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto, serving as an important com ...

, subsequently being transferred to

Messina Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, he was freed after three months in captivity as a result of Dolmieu's intervention and returned to France. In 1802 he published ''Mémoire sur le mercure argental'', and in 1808 ''Description du dichtoïte'', which revealed his deep interest in mineralogy. Cordier rose to the position of "ingénieur en chef" in 1809 and in 1816 he published his account of

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

: ''Sur les substances minérales dites en masse, qui servent de base aux roches volcaniques''. In 1822 he was elected to the French

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

. In 1830 he was appointed

maître des requêtes A Master of Requests () is a counsel of the French ''Conseil d'État'' (Council of State), a high-level judicial officer of administrative law in France. The office has existed in one form or another since the Middle Ages. The occupational title ...

in the Conseil d'État. In the same year he participitated in the foundation of the

French Geological Society French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

(the

Société géologique de France 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 ...

). In 1832 he became inspector-general of mines in the south-west of France and in 1837, "conseiller d'État". He was made Commander 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 ...

in 1837, then Grand Officer in 1859; In 1839 he was made a

Peer of France The Peerage of France (french: Pairie de France) was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 in the Middle Ages. The prestigious title and position of Peer of France (french: Pair de France, links=no) was ...

Muséum national d'histoire naturelle

Cordier started work at the

in 1819, when he succeeded

Barthélemy Faujas de Saint-Fond Barthélemy Faujas de Saint-Fond (17 May 174118 July 1819) was a French geologist, volcanologist and traveller. Life He was born at Montélimar. He was educated at the Jesuit's College at Lyon and afterwards at Grenoble where he studied law and ...

(1741–1819) to the chair of geology. Cordier held this position until his death in 1861. He was appointed director of the museum three times (from 1824 to 1825, from 1832 to 1833, and from 1838 to 1839) and was responsible for the creation of the "Galerie de géologie" in the museum. During his stewardship the collection grew from 1,500 specimens in 1819 to 200,000 in 1861, the year of his death in Paris. He made 51 geological journeys during his life, collecting specimens from within France (the Pyrenees, Languedoc, Maine, the Ardennes, the Vosges, Saxony and the Auvergne) as well as Tuscany, Liguria and the Alps. Many of the rocks that formed part of the museum's collection were sent to him from various continents by colleagues and friends. By 1844 Cordier had classified 337 types of rock.

Commemoration

Cordierite Cordierite (mineralogy) or iolite (gemology) is a magnesium iron aluminium cyclosilicate. Iron is almost always present and a solid solution exists between Mg-rich cordierite and Fe-rich sekaninaite with a series formula: to . A high-temperatu ...

, a magnesium iron aluminium cyclosilicate, is named after him.

Bibliography

*Bertand, M. J., 'Notice historique sur Pierre-Louis-Antoine Cordier, Inspecteur general des mines, Membre de l'Académie des Sciences', ''Annales des Mines'', 9th series, vol. 27, 1895

References

External links

Louis Cordier (Annales des Mines)Louis Cordier and the Cordier Collection (Muséum national d'histoire naturelle)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cordier, Louis 1777 births 1861 deaths People from Abbeville French geologists French mineralogists Mines ParisTech alumni Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Members of the French Academy of Sciences Members of the Chamber of Peers of the July Monarchy Peers of France