Antoine Jean Marie Thévenard (; 7 December 1733 in

Saint-Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo language, Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany. The Fortification, walled city on the English Channel coast had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth ...

Cunat, p.387 – 9 February 1815 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Cunat, p.389) was a French politician and

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

. He served in the French ruling regimes of

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

, those of the Revolution,

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

and

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...

, and is buried at the Panthéon de Paris. His son Antoine-René Thévenard, ''capitaine de vaisseau'', was killed at the

Battle of the Nile The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay; ) was fought between the Royal Navy and the French Navy at Abu Qir Bay, Aboukir Bay in Ottoman Egypt, Egypt between 1–3 August 1798. It was the climax of the Mediterranean ca ...

whilst commanding the 74-gun ''Aquilon''.

Career

Thévenard was born to Antoine Thévenard, a senior officer in the merchant navy,Arnault, p.426 and Jeanne Moinet. He began sailing as a lieutenant in 1747 on merchantmen captained by his father, and went on to sail for the Compagnie des Indes.Cunat, p.388 Aged 12 he embarked on a Compagnie des Indes ship and fought in several battles. He became a lieutenant in 1754 and destroyed the English establishments on the

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

coast and took part in

François Thurot François Thurot (22 July 1727 – 28 February 1760) was a French Navy officer, privateer and sea captain who served in the War of the Austrian Succession and Seven Years' War. Early life He may have been the son of the postmaster at Nuits-St ...

's expedition to Ireland in 1759. He earned the rank of Capitaine de vaisseau in the

French Indies Company The French Indies Company () was the main French overseas trading company during most of Louis XV's long reign in the 18th century. It emerged in March 1723 from the reorganization of John Law's Company following the termination of John Law's g ...

in 1764, and earned his first command of an

East Indiaman East Indiamen were merchant ships that operated under charter or licence for European trading companies which traded with the East Indies between the 17th and 19th centuries. The term was commonly used to refer to vessels belonging to the Bri ...

in 1768. Thévenard enlisted in the French Royal Navy in 1770, where his rank in the Compagnie des Indes earned him the rank of Commander. He was appointed Knight of the Order of Saint Louis and rose to captain in 1773, commanded the Lorient fleet from 1779, was promoted to Brigadeer of the naval armies in 1784, and eventually to ''Chef d'escadre'' in 1783.Arnault (p.426) says in 1784. In May 1791, Thévenard replaced Fleurieu as ministre de la Marine under Louis XVI, but resigned in September 1791, fallen out of favour because of his political opinions against the French Revolution. Promoted Vice-amiral in 1793, he commanded the fleets at Brest, then

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

, then Rochefort, and became Préfet maritime of Lorient then Toulon in 1801, where he remained until 1815. In October 1799, Thévenard presided at the

court-martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...

of Rear-Admiral Perrée, to examine the events of the action of 18 June 1799, in which he had lost his ships. He similarly presided at the court-martial following the capture of the ''Guillaume Tell'' in 1800, and the enquiry on the conduct of Rear-Admiral Dumanoir le Pelley at the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the Royal Navy and a combined fleet of the French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish navies during the War of the Third Coalition. As part of Na ...

. In 1809, he investigated the capitulation of Flessingen.Fonds Marine, vol.1, p.382 On 5 February 1810 he was made a comte d'Empire and member of the

Sénat conservateur The (, "Conservative Senate") was an advisory body established in France during the French Consulate, Consulate following the French Revolution. It was established in 1799 under the Constitution of the Year VIII following the Napoleon Bonapa ...

. In this capacity, he voted for the dismissal of Napoléon in 1814, which earned him an appointment to the

Chambre des Pairs The Chamber of Peers () was the upper house of the French parliament from 1814 to 1848. History The Peerage of France was recreated by the Charter of 1814 at the same time as the Bourbon Restoration in France, Bourbon Restoration, albeit on a ...

after the Bourbon Restoration in 1814. On 27 December 1814, he was promoted Commandeur in the Order of Saint-Louis. Thévenard died on 9 February 1815 and was interred in the

Panthéon The Panthéon (, ), is a monument in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It stands in the Latin Quarter, Paris, Latin Quarter (Quartier latin), atop the , in the centre of the , which was named after it. The edifice was built between 1758 ...

in Paris.

Memberships

*1771: Member of the Académie de Marine *1787: Member of the

Académie des Sciences The French Academy of 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 method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...

Honours

* 1773: Knight of the Ordre de Saint-Louis. He was promoted to Commander on 27 December 1814, under the Bourbon Restoration. * 1804: Grand officer of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

* buried in the

Works

; By Antoine-Jean-Marie Thévenard * ''Rapports à l'Académie de Marine'' * ''Services militaires des officiers de l'ancienne Compagnie des Indes'' * ''Sur une École de marine à Lorient'' * ''Sur le Commerce des Indes-Orientales'' * ''Calculs pour tirer un vaisseau à terre'' * ''Comparaison des courbes de fer à celles de bois'' * ''Observations sur l'ordonnance de la marine du 27 Septembre 1776'' * ''Projet de guerre contre les Anglais'' * ''Mesurer avec précision la profondeur de la mer en sondant'' * ''Nouvelle édition du Neptune oriental'' * ''Sur l'établissement d'un port de secours à Pontrieux'' * ''Expérience sur l'air dans les vaisseaux désarmés'' * ''Essai sur les phares'' * ''Observations météorologiques'' * ''Sur le doublage en cuivre des vaisseaux, les toiles à voiles, la circulation du sang, la pêche à la sardine, la conservation des gens de mer, le commerce entre la France et les États-Unis'' * ''Sur l'Île de la Trinité'' * ''Sur l'enduit nommé galgale'' * ''Sur le magnétisme animal'' * ''Sur les Volcans, l'Artillerie, la Mécanique, la Lumière, le Nivellement de la Mer Rouge, la Résistance des Fluides, le Passage du raz de Sein ou de Fontenay'' All the above were later re-printed in four volumes as ''Mémoires relatifs à la marine''.

Notes and references

Notes

References

Bibliography

* (San-Thou) * External links * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thevenard, Antoine-Jean-Marie 1733 births 1815 deaths Politicians from Saint-Malo Ministers of marine and the colonies French Navy admirals Burials at the Panthéon, Paris Counts of the First French Empire Members of the Sénat conservateur Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour Commanders of the Order of Saint Louis French naval commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Peers of France French Navy officers from Saint-Malo