Jacques-André Mallet Explained

Jacques-André Mallet
Birth Date:1740 9, df=yes
Birth Place:Geneva, Republic of Geneva
Death Place:Avully,[1] [2] [3] Republic of Geneva
Workplaces:Academy of Geneva
Fields:Astronomy
Mathematics
Alma Mater:Academy of Geneva
University of Basel[4]
Academic Advisors:Daniel Bernoulli
Louis Necker
Notable Students:Marc-Auguste Pictet
Jean Trembley
Known For:Founding the first Geneva Observatory in 1772

Jacques-André Mallet (in French mɑlɛ/);[5] also Mallet-Favre;[6] 23 September 1740  - 31 January 1790[7])was a Genevan mathematician[8] [9] and astronomer.

In 1772, Mallet established and co-financed the first Geneva Observatory, and served as its director until his death in 1790.[10] His research primarily concerned occultations,[11] especially lunar and solar eclipses,[12] sunspots,[13] planetary orbits, and the orbits of the moons of Jupiter.[14]

Biography

Early life and education

Jacques-André was born in Geneva to Jean-Robert, a captain in the French Army, and his wife, Dorothée Favre, both of noble lineage.[15] [16] Jean-Robert was from a branch of the Mallet family of Huguenot merchants and bankers[17] who had fled from Rouen to Geneva in 1557 to escape growing religious persecution.[18] [19] Through his mother, Dorothée, Jacques-André was also a direct descendant of the Eidguenot patriot François Favre, who famously clashed (with later support from his son-in-law, Ami Perrin) with the Calvinist rule of Geneva.[20] [21] [22]

Jean-Robert wanted his son to become a career soldier, but a severe burn to the thigh in childhood rendered Jacques-André permanently disabled and unfit for future service. Jacques-André instead pursued an education in science and research, joining the Academy of Geneva in 1755. There, he was a pupil of the mathematician Louis Necker, brother of Jacques. Mallet also studied privately with Le Sage before leaving Geneva in 1760 to study at the University of Basel, where he was a student of Daniel Bernoulli.[23] He completed his studies in 1762,[24] and journeyed to France and England in 1765, where he became friends with astronomers Jérôme Lalande, John Bevis, who discovered the Crab Nebula, and Nevil Maskelyne, among others. Mallet's first introduction to the science of astronomy came from Lalande and Maskelyne during this trip.

Expedition to Lapland

In April 1768, upon the recommendation of Lalande and Bernoulli, Mallet was invited to Russia by Catherine the Great and the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences to prepare to observe the 1769 transit of Venus from, Lapland.[25] [26] [27] He was accompanied by another Genevan astromer, Jean-Louis Pictet, whose own assignment was along the Umba.[28] Others who were engaged to observe the transit include Stepan Rumovsky, Christian Mayer,[29] and Christoph Euler,[30] son of the mathematician Leonhard Euler. While in Saint Petersburg, readying themselves for their expedition north, Mallet and Pictet met with many members of high society, including Jean-Baptiste Charpentier and the Baron Stroganov, who, like Mallet, had been a pupil of Necker at the Geneva Academy.[31]

The transit of Venus occurred on 3 June 1769. From 76 points globally,[32] astronomers and navigators, like James Cook in Tahiti, were charged with observing the rare phenomenon.[33] Unfortunately for Mallet, rain obscured the transit, and he was only able to view its beginning. Despite the weather, he still managed to publish useful data regarding solar parallax, allowing for better estimation of the Earth-Sun distance by him and his colleagues.[34] [35] In December 1776, perhaps owing to his contributions in Lapland, Mallet was awarded honorary membership in the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences.[36] [37]

Geneva Observatory

After his return from Russia, Mallet was elected by the bourgeoisie to the Council of Two Hundred of Geneva, the canton's legislative authority. In 1771, he accepted an honorary professorship at the Academy of Geneva, acting as lifetime chairperson of the astronomy department. The same year, Mallet convinced his fellow members of the council to approve construction of a permanent observatory on the casemate of the Bastion St-Antoine,[38] provided he settle a portion of the financing himself and supply accurate time calculations to the city watchmakers. Although the observatory, Geneva's first, was founded by Mallet in 1772, some sources suggest the project was completed in 1773.[39] [40] [41]

For the structure's design, Mallet had departed from a traditional, utilitarian plan, instead building a single-story octagon, capped with a drum and small dome. To furnish the observatory, Mallet purchased and installed a 10-foot achromatic telescope, likely manufactured by the English optician John Dollond, a high-precision clock from the French maître Jean-André Lepaute, and a meridian bezel, crafted by Jeremiah Sisson, to better calculate the duration of Earth's rotation for timekeeping.[42] [43] With his pupils and assistants, including Marc-Auguste Pictet and Jean Trembley, Mallet continued to observe celestial objects and bodies, and their interactions with each other and the Earth. In May 1772, Mallet was appointed as a corresponding member of the Académie des sciences by Jérôme Lalande.[44] As a correspondent, Mallet was seen as effective, meticulous, and dependable.

Avully

In 1771, after the death of his father, Jacques-André became responsible for the family estate located in Avully, a small municipality southwest of Geneva. The property included a château, agricultural buildings, and arable land approaching the Rhône to the north and west.[45] Each year, from about April to November, Mallet relocated to the country, eventually renovating a portion of the chateau's roof to act as his personal observatory. Mallet conducted official research in Avully, as well, with occasional assistance from Pictet and Trembley.[46] In April 1773, having developed an interest in meteorology and crop cultivation, Mallet began a diary, diligently detailing weather patterns, livestock acquisition, sharecropping and labor, equipment maintenance, crop maturation, quality of wine production, and more. His records have provided useful information to historians in their study of the agrarian systems and climate of Geneva in the late 18th century.[47] Mallet continued his diary until January 1789.

By January 1787, Mallet's health had deteriorated to such a great extent that he permanently retired to Avully, though he remained in his leadership position at the Geneva Observatory.[48] In June of the same year, while passing through Geneva on his continental research expedition with Duke Ernest II, astronomer Franz Xaver von Zach visited Mallet in Avully to socialize and conduct research.[49] Other scientists and intellectuals maintained epistolary communication with Mallet, including Johann Bernoulli, Joseph-Louis Lagrange, Jean Hyacinthe de Magellan, Johann Euler, and Charles Messier.[50] [51]

After his death in 1790, his former pupil Marc-Auguste Pictet succeeded Mallet as director of the observatory.[52] Mallet's astronomical instruments from Avully were purchased by Pictet and the Geneva Arts Society, an organization founded by another of Pictet's instructors, Saussure, and donated to the Geneva Observatory. The Avully estate is currently protected as a regional cultural asset according to the Hague Convention and Swiss federal law.[53]

Family

See also: Mallet family. Jacques-André was never married and fathered no known children.[54] In 1773, his youngest sister, Marguerite (1745-1824), married the astronomer and lawyer Jean-Louis Pictet, Jacques-André's companion during the 1769 expedition to the Kola peninsula.[55] His other sister, Isabelle (1743-1798), continued Jacques-André's diary and estate accounts for two years after his last entry.[56] When Isabelle, like her brother, died unmarried, the Avully estate passed to her nephew, Jean-Pierre Pictet, father of the zoologist and paleontologist Francois-Jules Pictet.[57]

Legacy

It is generally accepted that the lunar crater Mallet was named after Robert Mallet, the Irish geophysicist and engineer.[58] [59] However, since no given name was originally denoted, Swiss astronomer Marcel Golay, eighth director of the Geneva Observatory (1956-1992), suggested that Blagg and Müller had labelled the eponymous crater in honor of Jacques-André.[60] Founder and director of Geneva's Museum of the History of Science, chemist Marc Cramer (1892-1976), also supported the misnomer theory, though he implied the crater was first named by Johann Schmidt.[61] [62]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Lalande , Joseph Jérôme . Jérôme Lalande. 1803. Bibliographie astronomique; avec l'histoire de l'astronomie depuis 1781 jusqu'à 1802. Astronomical Bibliography; along with the History of Astronomy from 1781 to 1802. French. Paris. l'Imprimerie de la République. 699–700.
  2. Book: Poggendorff , Johann Christian . Johann Christian Poggendorff. 1863. Biographisch-literarisches Handwörterbuch zur Geschichte der exacten Wissenschaften, M-Z. Biographical-literary dictionary on the history of the exact sciences, M-Z. German. Leipzig. . 27.
  3. Bertrand. Pierre. 1952. Avully, commune genevoise. Bulletin de l'Institut National Genevois. Avully, Genevan village. Genève. French. 55. 118–119. May 25, 2022.
  4. Web site: Observatoire de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland. Wolfschmidt. Gudrun.

    de:Gudrun Wolfschmidt

    . 2021. Portal to the Heritage of Astronomy. UNESCO. May 17, 2022.
  5. Book: Thomas , Joseph . Universal Pronouncing Dictionary of Biography and Mythology: Her to Z. Philadelphia. J. B. Lippincott & Co.. 3rd. 2. 1637. 1901.
  6. Book: Hoefer , Ferdinand . Ferdinand Hoefer. 1860. Nouvelle biographies générale: depuis les temps les plus reculés jusqu'a nos jours. Maldonado — Martial, Vol. 33. Paris. Firmin Didot. 75–77.
  7. Book: Wolf , Rudolf . Rudolf Wolf. 1859. Biographien zur Kulturgeschichte der Schweiz, Vol. II. Zürich. Orell Füssli & Cie.. 249.
  8. Book: Bernoulli , Johann . Johann III Bernoulli. 1777. Lettres sur différens sujets, écrites pendant le cours d'un voyage par l'Allemagne, la Suisse, la France méridional et l'Italie, en 1774 et 1775, Vol. 1 à 2.. Berlin. . Lettre III.. 274–279.
  9. Book: Neuenschwander. Erwin.

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    . Dauben. Joseph. Joseph Dauben. Scriba. Christoph. Christoph Scriba. 2002. Writing the History of Mathematics: Its Historical Development. Basel. Springer Science & Business Media. Switzerland. 99. 9783764361679.
  10. Bianchi. Simone. March 13, 2021. Where was Mean Solar Time first adopted?. Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage. 24. 2. 337–344. 10.3724/SP.J.1440-2807.2021.02.04. 2103.07694. 2021JAHH...24..337B. 232233150.
  11. Book: Reuss. Jeremias.

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    . 1804. Repertorium commentationum a societatibus litterariis editarum, Tom. V., Astronomia.. Repertory of commentaries published by literary societies, Vol. V., Astronomy.. Latin. Göttingen. apud Henricum Dietrich. 447, 453, 470.
  12. Citizen Scholars' walk — Jacques-André Mallet (1740-1790). 2009. Educational pamphlet. University of Geneva. Online. May 15, 2022.
  13. Book: . 1875. Memoirs of the Royal Astronominal Society, Vol. 42-43.. London. Royal Astronomical Society. 201.
  14. Lacki. Jan. 2007. The Physical Tourist. Geneva: From the Science of the Enlightenment to CERN . . 9. 2. 231–252. 10.1007/s00016-007-0327-5. 125852719. May 15, 2022.
  15. Book: Droin. Jacques. 1988. Factums Judiciaires Genevois. Judicial Factums of Geneva. French. Genève. Société d'Histoire et d'Archéologie de Genéve
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  16. Gautier. Raoul.

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    . Tiercy. Georges. Georges Tiercy. 1930. L'Observatoire de Genève: 1772 - 1830 - 1950. Publications of the Observatoire Geneve Series A. Geneva. Geneva Observatory. 12. 14. 1930PGenA..12....3G.
  17. Book: Ahamed , Liaquat . Liaquat Ahamed. 2009. Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World. London. Penguin Press. La Bataille. 245. 978-1-59420-182-0.
  18. Encyclopedia: Mallet. Historical Dictionary of Switzerland. Senarclens. Jean de.

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    . Swiss Academies of Humanities and Social Sciences. Online. May 14, 2022.
  19. Book: Smith , Michael S. . 2006. The Emergence of Modern Business Enterprise in France, 1800-1930. Cambridge, Massachusetts; London. Harvard University Press. From Merchant Capitalism to Finance Capitalism. 50. 0674019393.
  20. Book: Galiffe , Jacques Augustin . 1829. Notices Généalogiques Sur Les Familles Genevoises, Depus Les Premiers Temps Jusqu'A Nos Jours, Vol. 1. Genealogical Notes on the Families of Geneva, from the First Times to Ours, Vol. 1. French. Genève. J. Barbezat. 115–121. May 22, 2022.
  21. Book: Galiffe. Jacques Augustin. Galiffe. Jean-Barthélemy-Gaïfre. 1831. Notices Généalogiques Sur Les Familles Genevoises, Depus Les Premiers Temps Jusqu'A Nos Jours, Vol. 2. Genealogical Notes on the Families of Geneva, from the First Times to Ours, Vol. 2. French. Genève. J. Barbezat. 612–613. May 22, 2022.
  22. Book: Watt , Jeffrey R. . 2020. The Consistory and Social Discipline in Calvin's Geneva. Liberal Arts Faculty Books. 7, 15–17. 9781648250040. 10.38051/9781787449428. 225012676.
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  24. Web site: Jacques-André Mallet. . Bibliothèque de Genève: Iconographie. Bibliothèque de Genève. French. 2014. May 30, 2022.
  25. Book: Wulf , Andrea . Andrea Wulf. 2012. Chasing Venus: the Race to Measure the Heavens. New York. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Russia Enters the Race. 117–119. 978-0307958617.
  26. Mallet. Jacques-André. January 1, 1771. read June 21, 1770. XXXI. Extract of a Letter from Mr. Mallet, of Geneva, to Dr. Bevis, F.R.S.. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. 60. 363–367. 10.1098/rstl.1770.0033. 186209822. May 26, 2022. free.
  27. Citizen Scholars. 2009. Educational pamphlet. University of Geneva. Online. May 15, 2022.
  28. Book: Pictet. Jean-Louis. Candaux. Jean-Daniel. Deux astronomes genevois dans la Russie de Catherine II: journaux de voyage en Laponie russe de Jean-Louis Pictet et Jacques-André Mallet pour observer le passage de Vénus devant le disque solaire, 1768-1769. Two Genevan astronomers in Catherine II's Russia: travel journals in Russian Lapland by Jean-Louis Pictet and Jacques-André Mallet to observe the passage of Venus in front of the solar disk, 1768-1769. 2005. Centre international d'étude du XVIIIe siècle. Ferney-Voltaire. 2845590288.
  29. An Account of the Transit of Venus: In a Letter to Charles Morton, M. D. Secret. R. S. from Christian Mayer, S. J. Translated from the Latin by James Parsons, M. D. Christian. Mayer. Christian Mayer (astronomer). 163–164. 54. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. Parsons. James. James Parsons (physician). 1764. 10.1098/rstl.1764.0030. 186209847.
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  31. Book: Rjéoutski. Vladislav. Somov. Vladimir. French and Russian in Imperial Russia. 1. 3: Language Use Among the Russian Aristocracy. 2015. Edinburgh University Press. 69. 9780748695515. 10.1515/9780748695522-008. 246912444.
  32. Web site: James Cook and the Transit of Venus: The best reason to watch the 2004 transit of Venus is history.. NASA Science. . NASA. 2004.
  33. Wilson. Ian R.. Are the Strongest Lunar Perigean Spring Tides Commensurate with the Transit Cycle of Venus?. 2. 2. 75–93. Pattern Recognition. 2014. May 30, 2022.
  34. Book: Mallet , Jacques-André . Observation du passage de Vénus devant le disque du soleil faite à Ponoi en Lapponie. Observation of the passage of Venus in front of the disc of the sun made at Ponoi in Lapponia. French. Imprimerie nationale de l'Academie des Sciences. Saint Petersburg. 1769. May 30, 2022.
  35. Lehmann. August. Der Venus-Durchgang am 8. December 1874. The transit of Venus on December 8, 1874. German. Gaea: Natur und Leben. Eduard Heinrich Mayer. Cologne and Leipzig. 408. 5. 1869. May 30, 2022.
  36. Web site: Малле-Фавр Жак-Андрэ. Russian. Mallet-Favre, Jacques-André. . February 12, 2002. Russian Academy of Sciences. May 15, 2022.
  37. Book: . 1900. Procès-verbaux des séances de l'Académie Impériale des Sciences depuis sa foundation jusqu'à 1803, Tome III. 1771-1785. Minutes of the sessions of the Imperial Academy of Sciences from its foundation to 1803, Vol. III. 1771-1785. French. Saint Petersburg. Imperial Academy of Sciences. 280. .
  38. Book: Holden. Edward S.. Edward S. Holden. Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. United States Government Printing Office. Washington. 1881. 691.
  39. Obituary: Jean-Alfred Gautier. Jean-Alfred Gautier. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Oxford University Press. Oxford. 42. 4. 150. 1882. 10.1093/mnras/42.4.150.
  40. The Astronomical Fraternity of the World, Part V.. Pickering. David B.. Popular Astronomy. 36. 3. 1928. 167. Goodsell Observatory of Carleton College. Northfield, Minnesota. 1928PA.....36..167P. June 1, 2022.
  41. Jean Senebier: de l'astro-météorologie au prévisionnisme empirique en passant par la météorologie instrumentale. Grenon. Michel. Jean Senebier: from astro-meteorology to empirical forecasting via instrumental meteorology. French. Archives des Sciences. . 63. 1–2. 150. 2010.
  42. Fischer. Stépane. Scruter le ciel. Scanning the Sky. French. Les petits carnets du Musée d'histoire des sciences. 6. Musée d'histoire des sciences de la Ville de Genève. Geneva. 2009. 2020. May 30, 2022.
  43. Book: Trembley. Jacques. Golay. Marcel. Marcel Golay (astronomer). . Les savants genevois dans l'Europe intellectuelle du XVIIe au milieu du XIXe siècle. Genevan scholars in intellectual Europe from the 17th to the middle of the 19th century. French. Geneva. 1987. L'astronomie. 69. 2882770006.
  44. Web site: Les membres du passé dont le nom commence par M. Institut de France

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  45. Web site: Avully Temple. French. Association In the Footsteps of the Huguenots and Waldensians of Piedmont – Geneva. Association Sur les Pas des Huguenots et des Vaudois du Piedmont - Genève. May 25, 2022. .
  46. Observations du passage de Mercure sur le Soleil. Observations of the transit of Mercury across the Sun. French. The Spirit of French and Foreign Newspapers by a Society of Men-of-Letters. Mrs. (widow); . 12. 338. Paris. 1786. June 2, 2022.
  47. Pour une meilleure approche de la conjoncture "météo-viticole" dans le Genevois à la fin du XVIIIe siècle. Delleaux. Fulgence. For a better approach to the "weather and wine" situation in Geneva at the end of the 18th century. French. Revue Suisse d'Histoire. . 58. 3. 318–326. 2008. June 5, 2022. 10.5169/seals-99098.
  48. Delleaux. Fulgence. Mallet. Jacques-André. 2009. L'astronome aux champs: Le Journal de Jacques-André Mallet sur le domaine d'Avully en Genevois (1773-1789) — 1re partie. The Astronomer in the Fields: The Diary of Jacques-André Mallet on the Avully Estate in Geneva (1773-1789), 1st Part. History and Rural Societies. French. 31. 141–194.
  49. Book: Vargha , Magda . Csaba. József. Franz Xaver von Zach (1754-1832): His Life and Times. Konkoly Observatory. Budapest. 35. 2005. 963-8361-50-6. May 31, 2022.
  50. La Bibliothèque publique et universitaire en 1941. Delarue. Henri. The Public and University Library in 1941. French. Genava: Bulletin de Musée d'Art et d'Histoire (Geneva) du Musée Ariana. Albert Kundig. Geneva. 20. xxi. 1942. June 5, 2022.
  51. Web site: Correspondance de Jacques-André Mallet; Ms. fr. 655. Correspondence of Jacques-André Mallet; Ms. fr. 655. Bibliothèque de Genève. French. June 5, 2022.
  52. Allocution de bienvenue de la présidente de la SPHN. Tissot. Paul. Welcome Address by the President of the SPHN. French. Archives des Sciences. . Geneva. 50. 1. 37. 1997. June 4, 2022.
  53. Web site: Inventaire PBC 2021: Listes cantonales, objets A et B, GE. PBC Inventory 2021: Cantonal lists, objects A and B, GE. January 1, 2022. Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance. French. May 22, 2022.
  54. Encyclopedia: Mallet, Jacques-André. Historical Dictionary of Switzerland. August 25, 2008. Golay. Marcel. Marcel Golay (astronomer). Swiss Academies of Humanities and Social Sciences. Online. French. May 14, 2022.
  55. Web site: Jean-Louis Pictet (1739-1781). . Archives Famille Pictet. La Fondation des Archives de la Famille Pictet. Genève. French. May 22, 2022.
  56. Delleaux. Fulgence. Mallet. Jacques-André. 2009. L'astronome aux champs: Le Journal de Jacques-André Mallet sur le domaine d'Avully en Genevois (1773-1789) — 2e partie. The Astronomer in the Fields: The Diary of Jacques-André Mallet on the Avully Estate in Geneva (1773-1789), 2nd Part. History and Rural Societies. French. 32. 135–197.
  57. Encyclopedia: François-Jules Pictet. Historical Dictionary of Switzerland. April 1, 2010. Buchs. Armand. Swiss Academies of Humanities and Social Sciences. Online. French. June 4, 2022.
  58. Web site: Mallet. Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN). May 31, 2022.
  59. Book: Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Cocks. Elijah E.. Cocks. Josiah C.. Tudor Publishers Inc.. Greensboro, North Carolina. 255. 978-0-936389-27-1. 1995. June 5, 2022.
  60. Book: Blagg. Mary Adela. Mary Adela Blagg. Müller. Karl. Karl Müller (astronomer). Named Lunar Formations. Percy Lund, Humphries & Co. Ltd.. London. 1935. 181.
  61. Sélénographie: les Suisses sur la lune. Cramer. Marc. Selenography: the Swiss on the moon. French. Gesnerus: Aspects historiques de la médecine et des sciences naturelles en Suisse romande. 32. 1. 115–118. 10.5169/seals-520581. 1975. June 4, 2022.
  62. Encyclopedia: Marc Cramer. Historical Dictionary of Switzerland. July 1, 2022. Barrelet. Jacques. Swiss Academies of Humanities and Social Sciences. Online. French. June 4, 2022.

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