Georges Baptiste François Allix (27 July 1808 in Gasny – 29 May 1881 in the same commune) was a

military engineer Military engineering is loosely defined as the art, science, and practice of designing and building military works and maintaining lines of military transport and military communications. Military engineers are also responsible for logistics ...

in the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

. In particular, he was the designer of the

screw frigate Steam frigates (including screw frigates) and the smaller steam corvettes, steam sloops, steam gunboats and steam schooners, were steam-powered warships that were not meant to stand in the line of battle. The first such ships were paddle stea ...

''La Souveraine'', launched in

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

on 3 June 1856.

Biography

He entered 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 ...

in November 1827 became a pupil of the ''École d'application du Génie maritime'' on 9 November 1829, then a admitted pupil on 1 January 1831. Rising through the ranks of engineer, he was appointed engineer 1st class on 27 September 1852. In 1836, he built the ''Cigale'' and the ''Belette''. In 1846, he designed the hull of the

yacht A yacht () is a sail- or marine propulsion, motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a ...

aviso An ''aviso'' was originally a kind of dispatch boat or "advice boat", carrying orders before the development of effective remote communication. The term, derived from the Portuguese and Spanish word for "advice", "notice" or "warning", an ...

''Comte d'Eu'', intended for King

Louis-Philippe Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...

. This steamer was launched at the shipyards of Augustin Normand (known as the Normand shipyards), father of Jacques-Augustin Normand ( fr), on 20 December 1846. In 1852 a program for a number of first rate frigates was started. The ''Impératrice Eugénie''

class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

of 5 ships was built according to a design by Dupuy de Lôme: : the ''Ardente'', the ''Audacieuse'', the ''Foudre'', the ''Impératrice Eugénie'', the ''Impétueuse'' and the ''Souveraine''. Based on the project, Allix drew up the plans for the last two, which were approved on 21 November 1853: the ''Impétueuse'' was launched on 15 August 1856 in Cherbourg and the ''Souveraine'' was launched on 3 June 1856 in Lorient. On average these ships displaced 3,800 t and reached 12 kn on trials. Allix was a member of the “Conseil des travaux de la Marine” from July 1853 to June 1854, knight then officer of the Legion of Honour on 12 August 1862. On 1 January 1860, he was a member of the “Commission supérieure pour le perfectionnement de l'École navale impériale” (Higher Commission for the Further Training of the Imperial Naval School) instituted by the order of 17 May 1854, under the chairmanship of Rear Admiral Pierre Louis Aimé Mathieu ( fr). On 1 January 1869, he was a member of the “Commission d'examen des mécaniciens” (Mechanics' Examination Commission).

Personal life

He married Marie-Louise Rosalie Marinel and was the father of Louis Georges Allix, polytechnicien engineering officer, born in Paris on 12th February 1862.

Distinctions

Officer of the

Legion of Honour 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 ...

(2 August 1862)

Works

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allix, Georges Baptiste François French naval architects École Polytechnique alumni French military engineers Officers of the Legion of Honour 1808 births 1881 deaths