Jacques-Louis, Comte de Bournon FRS, FGS (21 January 1751 – 24 August 1825) was a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' deri ...

and

mineralogist Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proce ...

who came to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

after the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

. He gained prominence in the scientific community, being elected a fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

and was a founding member of the

Geological Society The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

before returning to France after the

Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to: France under the House of Bourbon: * Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815) Spain under the Spanish Bourbons: * Abs ...

Early life

The eldest of four children, Jacques-Louis, Comte de Bournon was born in Metz on 21 January 1751. His father was Jacques de Bournon, the Seigneur of Retonfey and Gras and his mother was Marie-Anne Martinet of Nibouville. His interest in geology began with his father's cabinet of minerals and expanded as he travelled extensively in his youth. He began studying crystallography under Jean-Baptiste L. Romé de l'Isle in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

Military career

He became an officer in the Regiment de Toul; his military career prospered and he eventually reached the rank of lieutenant which found him serving as artillery captain during the French Revolution at the garrison of

Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...

in 1789.

Work on meteorites

In 1801, whilst working with Edward Charles Howard, he was the first to describe the

silicate minerals Silicate minerals are rock-forming minerals made up of silicate groups. They are the largest and most important class of minerals and make up approximately 90 percent of Earth's crust. In mineralogy, silica (silicon dioxide, ) is usually con ...

, sulphides, magnetic metal grains, globules and

fine-grained Granularity (also called graininess), the condition of existing in granules or grains, refers to the extent to which a material or system is composed of distinguishable pieces. It can either refer to the extent to which a larger entity is sub ...

matrices Matrix most commonly refers to: * ''The Matrix'' (franchise), an American media franchise ** ''The Matrix'', a 1999 science-fiction action film ** "The Matrix", a fictional setting, a virtual reality environment, within ''The Matrix'' (franchis ...

found in meteorites and was one of the first French scholars to become convinced of the extraterrestrial origins of

meteorites A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or moon. When the original object ...

at a time when most scientists accepted that they originated from the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemati ...

in 1802.

Cataloguing mineral collections

Upon the recommendation of William Babington, Jacques-Louis was employed by Sir John St. Aubyn to curate and catalogue his mineral collection. This collection was moved to London to be stored alongside other collections by Sir Abraham Hume and Sir Charles Greville on which he was also working. He began to catalogue the collection based on crystal structure but was unable to finish due to the collection being moved back to Cornwall. Comte de Bournon’s catalogue was written in French and is currently held alongside Sir John St. Aubyn's collection at Plymouth City Museum.

Geological Society

In 1807, he was one of the founding members of the

History of the Geological Society
UK. and he had a custom of writing his essays in French.

Return to France

De Bournon remained loyal to Louis XVIII during his exile, going so far as to reject offers to return to France from

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

. When Louis XVIII returned to power in 1814, De Bournon accepted an offer from the King to buy his mineral collection for the state and was then appointed director-general of the Royal Mineral Cabinet. His collection was split into two and currently resides in

Muséum national d'histoire naturelle The French National Museum of Natural History, known in French as the ' (abbreviation MNHN), is the national natural history museum of France and a ' of higher education part of Sorbonne Universities. The main museum, with four galleries, is loc ...

and

Collège de France The Collège de France (), formerly known as the ''Collège Royal'' or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment ('' grand établissement'') in France. It is located in Paris n ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bournon, Jacques Louis, Comte de 1751 births 1824 deaths People of the French Revolution French mineralogists Fellows of the Royal Society