Louis Marie Bernard Dangeard (April 29, 1898 in Poitiers,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

– April 15, 1987 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

, France) was a French

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althoug ...

and

oceanographer Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamic ...

. He was son of the botanist and mycologist Pierre Augustin Dangeard. His brother was the botanist

Pierre Dangeard Pierre Jean-Louis Dangeard (18 February 1895 in Poitiers, France – 23 August 1970 in Pléneuf-Val-André, France) was a French Botany, botanist. He was the son of botanist and Mycology, mycologist Pierre Augustin Dangeard and brother of geo ...

. Louis Dangeard was one of the founders of modern oceanography.

Biography

Louis Dangeard was born on April 29, 1898 in Poitiers. He was the youngest of four siblings. His father had come from Caen in 1891 to take up a professorship at the ''Académie des Sciences'', the scientific faculty of the

University of Poitiers The University of Poitiers (UP; french: Université de Poitiers) is a public university located in Poitiers, France. It is a member of the Coimbra Group. It is multidisciplinary and contributes to making Poitiers the city with the highest studen ...

. In 1909 the family moved to

, where his father had been offered a post at the prestigious scientific faculty of the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

. Louis Dangeard studied geology in Paris and, in 1919 moved to the scientific faculty of the

University of Rennes The University of Rennes is a public research university which will be officially reconstituted on 1 January 2023 and located in the city of Rennes, in Upper Brittany, France. The University of Rennes has been divided for almost 50 years, before ...

working as an academic assistant. In 1923 he was offered a permanent position and, in 1928, he was promoted to assistant professor. From 1922 to 1927 he took part in seven oceanographic expeditions organized by

Jean Charcot Jean-Martin Charcot (; 29 November 1825 – 16 August 1893) was a French neurologist and professor of anatomical pathology. He worked on hypnosis and hysteria, in particular with his hysteria patient Louise Augustine Gleizes. Charcot is known a ...

with the research vessel ''

Pourquoi Pas? ''Pourquoi-Pas'' or ''Pourquoi Pas?'' (from French ''pourquoi pas?'' 'why not?') may refer to one of these ships: * Four ships owned by the French navigator and naval officer Jean-Baptiste Charcot: ** , a cutter that Charcot had built in 1893 ...

.'' These research trips covered the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

, the Bay of Biscay and in particular the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

. Dangeard's main focus of research was the investigation of the

seabed The seabed (also known as the seafloor, sea floor, ocean floor, and ocean bottom) is the bottom of the ocean. All floors of the ocean are known as 'seabeds'. The structure of the seabed of the global ocean is governed by plate tectonics. Most of ...

. In 1928 he received his doctorate with a

thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

on the geology of the seabed of the English Channel. In 1930 Dangeard was appointed professor of geology at the scientific faculty of the

University of Clermont-Ferrand The University of Clermont-Ferrand was officially founded in 1896, by merging of two existing faculties (Literature and Sciences) and a medical school. In 1976, due to political issues, the University split between University Clermont-Ferrand I - ...

, but switched in 1933 to the Chair of Geology at the ''Faculté des Sciences'' at the

University of Caen The University of Caen Normandy (French: ''Université de Caen Normandie''), also known as Unicaen, is a public university in Caen, France. History The institution was founded in 1432 by John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, the first rector ...

Lower Normandy Lower Normandy (french: Basse-Normandie, ; nrf, Basse-Normaundie) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, Lower and Upper Normandy merged becoming one region called Normandy. Geography The region included three departme ...

, where he succeeded Alexandre Bigot. His scientific work concentrated mainly on sedimentology and

petrography Petrography is a branch of petrology that focuses on detailed descriptions of rocks. Someone who studies petrography is called a petrographer. The mineral content and the textural relationships within the rock are described in detail. The class ...

. By January 1926, Louis Dangeard had married the 22-year-old Louise Marie Joseph Marcille (1902 to 1980). The couple had six children: Henri, Yves, Alain, Anne, Armelle and Gilles Louise Marie. He retired from his professorial chair at the University of Caen in 1968. His wife died in 1980, and Dangeard died in 1987 at the age of 88.

Memberships and honors

* Dangeard was a member of the

French Geological Society 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 France ...

. During his lifetime a valley system of the eastern English Channel was named the ''Fosse Dangeard'' in his honor.J.-P. Destombes, E. R. Shephard-Thorn and J. H. Redding (1975): ''A Buried Valley System in the Strait of Dover.'' In: ''Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society London A'', vol.279, no.1288, p.243-253. * 1955 elected President of the French Geological Society

Works

* Louis Dangeard: ''La Normandie.'' Vol. 7 of the series edited by Albert F. de Lapparant (Directeur de CNRS): ''Actualités Scientifiques et Industrielles 1140 Géologie Régionale de la France''. Hermann & Cie, Paris 1951. * Suez, Hurghada, Djibouti : Mission Louis Dangeard-Paul Budker dans la mer rouge et en Somalie francaise: 7 decembre 1938 - 9 fevrier 1939 / par Louis Dangeard Volume 1. 1941 * "Carte lithologique des mers de France," in ''Geologie der Meere und Binnengewässer''. Berlin: Bornträger, 1937-44. Vol. 3, Pt. 2, pp. 129–142, 1939 * ''Observations De Géologie Sous-Marine et D'océanographie Relatives à La Manche''. Ed. Blondel La Rougery, Paris et Lyon. 1928 Dangeard also published numerous academic articles throughout his career.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dangeard, Louis 1898 births 1987 deaths 20th-century French geologists French oceanographers