Edme Hippolyte Marié-Davy (28 April 1820 – 26 July 1893) was a French chemist and inventor during the 19th century. He was born in

Clamecy, Nièvre Clamecy () is a commune in the Nièvre department in central France. Clamecy is the capital of an arrondissement in the department of Nièvre, at the confluence of the Yonne and Beuvron and on the Canal du Nivernais, N.N.E. of Nevers. Clame ...

. In 1854, he invented the first naval

periscope A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position. In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...

, consisting in a vertical tube with two small mirrors fixed at each end at 45°. He also invented a mercury bisulfate battery that bears his name, "the Marie-Davy". In 1854, Marié-Davy invented an

electromagnetic motor In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge. It is the second-strongest of the four fundamental interactions, after the strong force, and it is the dominant force in the interactions of ...

. Based on it, he proposed a submarine with an electrically driven propeller. McClintock and Watson once planned to use the device on the ''Hunley''. The engine was said to have the power of "a one-horse steam engine". In the 1860s, he was Deputy Director of the

Paris Observatory The Paris Observatory (french: Observatoire de Paris ), a research institution of the Paris Sciences et Lettres University, is the foremost astronomical observatory of France, and one of the largest astronomical centers in the world. Its hist ...

, in charge of

meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did no ...

.Storm Watchers By John Cox p.90
/ref> He devoted himself to the study of local

thunderstorms A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are some ...

, following the destructive storm of 14 November 1854, in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included t ...

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marie-Davy, Hippolyte 1820 births 1893 deaths 19th-century French inventors 19th-century French chemists