André Metz (4 November 1891 in

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

– 16 December 1968 in

Louveciennes Louveciennes () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, between Versailles (city), V ...

) was a French

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

and popularizer of

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

Life and work

He attended the

École Polytechnique (, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...

(1910), became an

Engineer officer An engineering officer can be a Merchant Navy engineer, or a commissioned officer in the British Armed Forces with responsibility for military engineering. In the Royal Navy (RN), Engineer Officer (Royal Navy), Engineering Officers are responsib ...

and directed the ''Revue du génie militaire'' from 1933 to 1937. He was in the French Liberation Army during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, became brigadier general in 1946 and was awarded the order of Commandeur de la Légion d’Honneur. He was a member of the Société Française de Physique and Société française de Philosophie, and was awarded the Prix Binoux (1928), the Prix Ch. Lambert (1963), and the Prix Henri Becquerel (1967). He became known for his defense of

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

theory of relativity The theory of relativity usually encompasses two interrelated physics theories by Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity, proposed and published in 1905 and 1915, respectively. Special relativity applies to all physical ph ...

against criticisms and inaccurate popularizations in French literature, in particular the ones given by the philosopher

Henri Bergson Henri-Louis Bergson (; ; 18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941) was a French philosopher who was influential in the traditions of analytic philosophy and continental philosophy, especially during the first half of the 20th century until the S ...

. Metz's efforts were appreciated by Einstein in a letter exchange with Metz (see HentschelSee section 5.2 in and CanalesSee chapter 13 in for details). He was also a proponent of the philosophy of Émile Meyerson.

Publications (selection)

*La Relativité (Paris 1923 — augmented edition 1926) *Les Nouvelles Théories scientifiques et leurs adversaires, Chiron, 1926. *Meyerson (Alcan, Paris 1926 – augmented edition 1934) *Bergson (Paris 1933) *Science et réalité (Sedes, Paris 1964)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Metz, André 1891 births 1968 deaths 20th-century French writers 20th-century French physicists 20th-century French philosophers Brigadier generals Free French military personnel of World War II Commanders of the Legion of Honour