Edme-François Jomard
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Edme-François Jomard (; 1777 – September 22, 1862) was a French
cartographer Cartography (; from , 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and , 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can ...
,
engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...
, and
archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
. He edited the ''Description de L'Égypte'' and was a member of the Institut d'Egypte established by
Napoleon 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 ...
. He supervised the educational and cultural mission sent to France from Egypt by
Muhammad Ali of Egypt Muhammad Ali (4 March 1769 – 2 August 1849) was the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Albanians, Albanian viceroy and governor who became the ''de facto'' ruler of History of Egypt under the Muhammad Ali dynasty, Egypt from 1805 to 1848, widely consi ...
. He was a pioneer in the area of History of Cartography.


Life

He was educated at the collège Mazarin, the
École nationale des ponts et chaussées École nationale des ponts et chaussées (; ; abbr. ENPC), also nicknamed Ponts (), formerly known as École des Ponts ParisTech (), is a grande école in the field of science, engineering and technology, of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris, a ...
and 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 ...
. He took part in Napoleon's commission to Egypt. In 1828 he was appointed as curator of the geographical collections of the Bibliothèque royale.


''Description de l'Égypte''

The publication of the landmark, outsized ''
Description de l'Égypte The ''Description de l'Égypte'' (, ''"Description of Egypt"'') was a series of publications, appearing first in 1809 and continuing until the final volume appeared in 1829, which aimed to comprehensively catalog all known aspects of ancient an ...
'' (Description of Egypt) was decreed by
Napoleon Bonaparte 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 ...
in 1802, and published between 1809 and 1892. This seminal publication on Egyptology was a collaboration effort of some 150 prominent French scientist and scholars and 2,000 technicians and artists, with Jomard as chief editor. It is the record of Bonaparte's
Commission des Sciences et des Arts The Commission des Sciences et des Arts (''Commission of the Sciences and Arts'') was a French scientific and artistic institute. Established on 16 March 1798, it consisted of 167 members, of which all but 16 joined Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign ...
that accompanied the ill-fated
French campaign in Egypt and Syria The French invasion of Egypt and Syria (1798–1801) was a military expedition led by Napoleon Bonaparte during the French Revolutionary Wars. The campaign aimed to undermine British trade routes, expand French influence, and establish a ...
(1798-1801)."


Monuments de la géographie

Jomard's main task as curator at the Bibliothèque royale was to organize the existing collections and to develop the library's collection of contemporary maps. But he was also concerned with the history of cartography, searching for early maps and arranging for facsimiles to be prepared that could be published, thus making them available for scholarly study. The maps ranged from the
Hereford Mappa Mundi The Hereford Mappa Mundi (, map of the world) is the largest medieval map still known to exist, depicting the known world. It is a religious rather than literal depiction, featuring heaven, hell and the path to salvation. Dating from AD, the m ...
of about 1300 to early maps of the Americas (16th century). They were prepared at full size, some maps requiring multiple folio sheets. The collection, entitled ''Monuments de la géographie'' (Monuments of geography) was published between 1842 and 1862, and included 30 maps. The goal was to document the progress of geographical concepts from erroneous mediaeval ideas to modern scientific knowledge based on exploration and accurate observation.


Learned Societies

Jomard was one of the founding members of the
Société de Géographie The Société de Géographie (; ), is the world's oldest geographical society. It was founded in 1821 as the first Geographic Society. Since 1878, its headquarters have been at 184 Boulevard Saint-Germain, Paris. The entrance is marked by two gig ...
in Paris. With the Irish exile and former American consul David Baillie Warden, Jonard was behind the society's patronage of studies of indigenous America, especially
Palenque Palenque (; Yucatec Maya: ), also anciently known in the Itza Language as Lakamha ("big water" or "big waters"), was a Maya city-state in southern Mexico that perished in the 8th century. The Palenque ruins date from ca. 226 BC to ca. 799 AD ...
and the
Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula ( , ; ) is a large peninsula in southeast Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north and west of the peninsula from the C ...
. Through his membership of the society, he was also involved in awarding the French explorer,
René Caillié Auguste René Caillié (; 19 November 1799 – 17 May 1838) was a French explorer and the first European to return alive from the town of Timbuktu. Caillié had been preceded at Timbuktu by a British officer, Alexander Gordon Laing, Major Gordon ...
, the 10,000 Franc prize for being the first European to return from Timbuktu. He contributed to, and edited, Caillié's account of his travels, ''Journal d'un voyage à Temboctou et à Jenné dans l'Afrique Centrale, ...'' which was published in 1830. The work was translated into English and published as '' Travels through Central Africa to Timbuctoo; and across the Great Desert, to Morocco,...''. Jomard was elected a member of the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
in 1829 and the
American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...
in 1855.


Jomard Award

The Jomard Award was established by the Société de Géographie in 1882 for auxiliary sciences and services provided to the French Geographical Society (''"Prix pour les sciences auxiliares et pour services rendus á la Société de Géographie"'').


Recipients

* 1999 The Royal Geographical Society: ''Archives de la Royal Geographical Society'' * 2000 Christophe and Oriane Cordonnier: ''Le Cosmos, d'Alexandre de Humboldt'' * 2005 Yves Lassus: ''Jomard, le dernier Egyptien'' * 2009 Gilles Lapouge: ''La légende de la géographie''


See also

*
List of Egyptologists This is a partial list of Egyptologists. An Egyptologist is any archaeologist, historian, linguistics, linguist, or art historian who specializes in Egyptology, the scientific study of Ancient Egypt and its antiquities. Demotists are Egyptologists ...


Notes


Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jomard, Edme Francois 1777 births 1862 deaths French Egyptologists French archaeologists Commission des Sciences et des Arts members Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) International members of the American Philosophical Society