Paul Mérault Monneron or de Monneron (23 February 1748,
Annonay
Annonay (; ) is a Communes of France, commune and largest city in the north of the Ardèche department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It is the most populous commune in the Ardèche department although it is not the ...
, Ardèche – May 1788,
Vanikoro
Vanikoro (sometimes wrongly named ''Vanikolo'') is an island in the Santa Cruz Islands, Santa Cruz group, located to the Southeast of the main Santa Cruz group. It is part of the Temotu Province of Solomon Islands.
The name ''Vanikoro'' is alway ...
) was an engineer officer in the French armed forces and from 1785 to 1788 a member of
Lapérouse's expedition.
Family
His eldest brother
Charles Claude Ange Monneron was député to the
Estates General of 1789
The Estates General of 1789 () was a general assembly representing the French estates of the realm: the clergy (First Estate), the nobility (Second Estate), and the commoners (Third Estate). It was the last of the Estates General of the Kingdom ...
, for the Sénéchaussée of
Annonay
Annonay (; ) is a Communes of France, commune and largest city in the north of the Ardèche department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It is the most populous commune in the Ardèche department although it is not the ...
, his brothers
Louis Monneron (1742–1805) and
Pierre Antoine Monneron (1747–1801) were respectively députés of the
National Constituent Assembly for the
West Indies
The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
and
Mauritius
Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
. Another brother,
Joseph François Augustin Monneron (1756–1826) was député for Paris at the
Legislative Assembly and retired from it in 1792, before becoming Director General of the Caisse des Comptes Courants and going bankrupt in 1798.
Life
Entering the
École du génie de Mézières and received as an engineer on 1 January 1770, he was first employed in France, at
Briançon
Briançon (, ) is the sole Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hautes-Alpes Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It is the highest city in France at an a ...
then
Saint-Omer
Saint-Omer (; ; Picard: ''Saint-Onmé'') is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France.
It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Sa ...
.
Participation in Lapérouse's expedition
Lapérouse proposed Monneron to
Fleurieu as the expedition's chief engineer, for "such a character joined to knowledge is that which convened in him".
Moneron Island
Moneron Island, (, , , Ainu: ) is a small island off Sakhalin Island. It is a part of the Russian Federation.
Description
Moneron has an area of about and a highest point of . It is approximately long (N/S axis) by wide, and is located ...
, discovered by the expedition west of
Sakhalin Island
Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, p=səxɐˈlʲin) is an island in Northeast Asia. Its north coast lies off the southeastern coast of Khabarovsk Krai in Russia, while its southern tip lies north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. An islan ...
, was named after him.
He died in the shipwreck of the ''
Astrolabe
An astrolabe (; ; ) is an astronomy, astronomical list of astronomical instruments, instrument dating to ancient times. It serves as a star chart and Model#Physical model, physical model of the visible celestial sphere, half-dome of the sky. It ...
'' at
Vanikoro
Vanikoro (sometimes wrongly named ''Vanikolo'') is an island in the Santa Cruz Islands, Santa Cruz group, located to the Southeast of the main Santa Cruz group. It is part of the Temotu Province of Solomon Islands.
The name ''Vanikoro'' is alway ...
in 1788.
See also
*
European and American voyages of scientific exploration
The era of European and American voyages of scientific exploration followed the Age of Discovery and were inspired by a new confidence in science and reason that arose in the Age of Enlightenment. Maritime expeditions in the Age of Discovery were ...
Notes
Sources
His genealogy on geneanet samlap
Bibliography
* ''L'expédition de Lapérouse 1785–1788 Réplique Française aux voyages de Cook'' – C.Gaziello Paris 1984
External links
Association Lapérouse France
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monneron, Paul Merault
1748 births
1788 deaths
People from Annonay
French engineers
18th-century French explorers