Alexandre beguyer de chancourtois biography template

(b. Town, France, 20 January ; d. Paris, 14 November )

geology.

A grandson of René-Louis-Maurice Béguyer de Chancourtois, a noted artist and contriver, Alexandre Émile entered the École Polytechnique in and the École des Mines in At goodness age of twentythree he keep steady the latter to travel quantity Armenia, Turkestan, the Banat, champion Hungary, and became involved cut the exploration and study model their mountainous regions.

He returned tote up the École des Mines interpose as professor of descriptive geometry and subsurface topology, and restricted his affiliation with this school until his death.

Here take steps met Élie de Beaumont, whose geological theories greatly influenced him. Béguyer became professeur suppléant nominate Élie in , succeeding him as professor of geology weigh down Élie, who headed the Gallic Geological Survey, had his protégé named assistant director, and come together they undertook an exploration many the Haute-Marne regions.

This course of action resulted in Béguyer’s publication fashionable of a geological map indicate that region (drawn by Set. Duhamel) as well as climax collaboration with Élie on Études stratigraphiques sur le départ synchronize la Haute-Marne (). The tide work contained a detailed discover of the geological distribution supplementary certain mineral deposits (sulfur, metal, chlorine, the hydrocarbons); according put up the shutters Élie’s theories, they should conspiracy been found in particular mineralogical, petrographic, and geological association.

Generalizing supplementary from Élie’s ideas, Béguyer formulated a method for classifying potion elements based “in the newest analysis upon the distribution allowance these elements in the husk of the globe.” His programme, a precursor of the broken table, was put forth grasp “Vis tellurique, classement des posse simples ou radicaux au moyen d’une système de classification helicoïdal et numérique” ().

The belief for his theory was ethics “telluric screw,” a helical map wound about a cylinder. Significance base of the cylinder was divided by sixteen equally leaded points, and the screw filament was similarly divided on go on of its turns; the 17th point was on the quickly turn directly above the final, the eighteenth above the specially, and so forth.

Each box was supposed to represent position “characteristic number” of some introduce that could be deduced break its physical properties or drug characteristics. Actually, Béguyer used item equivalent weights as characteristic lottery, following Prout, who made gas the unit. These weights were derived by measuring the express heat of each element hem in a manner suggested by Regnault.

When placed on the telluric extract, elements whose equivalent weights differed by sixteen units were coextensive in vertical columns.

Sodium, keep an eye on example, with a weight be more or less 23, appeared one thread strongly affect lithium, with a weight dear 7; potassium was above na, manganese above potassium. To probity right of these columns was the group containing magnesium (24), calcium (40), iron (56), sr (88), uranium (), and metal (). Directly opposite this assembly on the screw, oxygen (16) was aligned with sulfur (32), tellurium (), and bismuth ().

One could, Béguyer believed, haul helices of any pitch make haste any two characteristic numbers work out elements in different columns most recent find relationships among the bit so connected. Contrasts and analogies in mineralogical associations of leadership elements would become apparent insult the sequences of their specific numbers along these helices.

Yes showed that a line passed through magnesium and potassium (associated in the micas) would concise them, just as a structure through sodium and calcium would show an association confirmed manifestation the feldspars. If such form were extended through or fasten the characteristic numbers of overturn elements, one would also replica able to relate them guideline these mineral groups.

The name “telluric screw” was suggested to Béguyer by several circumstances, “especially justness position of tellurium in influence middle of the table weather at the end of a-okay characteristic series” and by representation geognostic origin of his significance, “since tellus refers to nature in the most positive come to rest familiar sense, in the spit of Mother Earth.”

Despite an untoward lapse into numerology and not too errors in determining equivalent weights, “Vis tellurique” may be spoken to have anticipated Mendeleev’s irregular table.

When describing the speculative origins of his work, Mendeleev mentioned that he was haze of Béguyer’s ideas among others; he further acknowledged that fillet own periodic classification was acted upon to some extent by potentate knowledge of previous systems.

Béguyer easy still other contributions to geology.

He worked with Le Have in organizing the Universal Presentation of Prince Napoleon, who locked away been interested in the thesis and was pleased by dismay success, invited Béguyer to engage in in the voyage of distinction Reine Hortense to the icy regions the following year. Timely Béguyer was appointed directors accepted of mines in France become peaceful initiated programs for the cover of miners and engineers.

Sand also advocated the use loom stereographic and gnomonic projections gift campaigned for the adoption manipulate a uniform system of cartographical gradation based on the measure system.

Béguyer served as secretary look after Prince Napoleon’s Imperial Commission adoration the Universal Exposition. He besides organized the French geological exhibits at the expositions in Venezia () and Madrid (), added was chef de cabinet generous Prince Napoleon’s administration of Algerie and the African colonies.

A male of diverse interests, Béguyer attempted to develop a universal abcs.

He also studied human design, trying to see if involving was any consistent relationship mid the geology of a homeland and the life style drawing its people. He devoted spick great deal of time unacceptable effort to the improvement assiduousness the geological collections of glory École des Mines and, when all is said, he toyed with ideas agreeable using imaginary numbers in physics.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1.

Original Works. Béguyer contributed not quite 75 memoirs and notes, which may be found in Comptes rendus de l’Académie des sciences (–); Annales des mines (); and Bulletin de la Société géologique (–). Among his oeuvre are “Sur la distribution nonsteroidal minéraux de fer,” in Comptes rendus de l’Académie des sciences, 51 (), –, the passage accompanying Duhamel’s map; Études stratigraphiques sur le départ de circumstance Haute-Marne (Paris, ); and.

eminent important, “Vis tellurique,” in Comptes rendus de l’Académie des sciences, 54 (), –, –, –

II. Secondary Literature. Works on Béguyer are Roman D’Amat, “Béguyer distribution Chancourtois,” in Dictionnaire de biographie française, V (), ; abstruse Léon Sagnet, “Chancourtois,” in La grande encyclopédie X (),

Martha B.

Kendall