Louis François Élisabeth Ramond, baron de Carbonnières (4 January 1755
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...
– 14 May 1827), was a French
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...
,
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, althou ...
and botanist. He is regarded as one of the first explorers of the high mountains of the
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...
, to Pierre-Bernard Ramond (1715–1796), treasurer of war, and Rosalie-Reine Eisentrand (1732–1762).
He studied law at the University of Strasbourg in 1775 and became a lawyer in February 1777. In Strasbourg he became friends with another student, Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz (1751–1792), a writer belonging to the then-fashionable '' Sturm und Drang'' movement. During this period Ramond discovered German Romantic literature, in particular Goethe's '' The Sorrows of Young Werther''; this book inspired him to become a writer and in 1777 he published the ''Werther''-influenced ''Les Dernières aventures du jeune d’Olban'' (''The Last Adventures of Young Olban''). Ramond undertook a voyage to
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
in May 1777 where he met writers and poets, as well as scientists: the
theologian
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
Charles Bonnet
Charles Bonnet (; 13 March 1720 – 20 May 1793) was a Genevan naturalist and philosophical writer. He is responsible for coining the term ''phyllotaxis'' to describe the arrangement of leaves on a plant. He was among the first to notice parth ...
(1720–1793); he also came across his friend Lenz there. The two men shared what was by all accounts an ecstatic experience contemplating the valley of the
. Ramond also caught the passion for high mountains. A few days later, Lenz suffered his first bout of insanity. In 1778, Ramond published ''Élégies'', impressions inspired by his love for nature. Extracts from this work were published the same year in the ''Journal de Dames'' of Claude-Joseph Dorat (1734–1780).
In 1779, Ramond and his father settled in Paris. In 1780, Ramond published ''La Guerre d’Alsace pendant le Grand Schisme d’Occident'' (''The War of Alsace during the Great Western Schism''), a romantic and historical epic. But the French capital was not yet ready for German Romanticism and the book was not received as well as he had hoped.
Leaving Paris he returned to Strasbourg, where he placed himself at the service of cardinal Louis René Édouard de Rohan (1734–1803), prince of Rohan-Guemenée and cardinal-archbishop of Strasbourg, celebrated for his role in the affair of the diamond necklace. In the company of the prince, Ramond travelled widely and met many of the personalities of the age. The cardinal was sent in exile to La Chaise-Dieu in June 1786, and he left for
Auvergne
Auvergne (; ; oc, label= Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Au ...
accompanied by his faithful secretary. That summer, the cardinal wished to stay in a thermal town in the Pyrenees and Ramond departed to reconnoitre the area. The two men spent the summer and the autumn of 1787 in Barèges. Ramond started to explore the nearby mountains above
Gavarnie
Gavarnie (; oc, Gavarnia) is a former commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department, Southwestern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Gavarnie-Gèdre.Maladetta Massif, to get a better acquaintance with their geological formations – these were the subject of a topical controversy, fed in particular by the limestone theories of
Déodat Gratet de Dolomieu
Dieudonné Sylvain Guy Tancrède de Gratet de Dolomieu usually known as Déodat de Dolomieu (; 23 June 175028 November 1801) was a French geologist. The mineral and the rock Dolomite (rock), dolomite and the largest summital crater on the Piton d ...
(1750–1801) – and to see whether the mountains were
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...
or limestone, which was believed to be older rock.
When the cardinal was authorized to return to Strasbourg in December 1788, Ramond settled in Paris, where in 1789 he published his ''Observations faites dans les Pyrénées, pour servir de suite à des observations sur les Alpes'' (''Observations Made in the Pyrenees, To follow some Observations of the Alps''). To improve his knowledge of natural history, he followed the courses of Jussieu (1748–1836) and
René Desfontaines
René (''born again'' or ''reborn'' in French) is a common first name in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and German-speaking countries. It derives from the Latin name Renatus.
René is the masculine form of the name (Renée being the feminin ...
(1780–1831) in the Jardin des Plantes.
He also launched himself into politics, being elected a deputy of Paris in September 1791 and joining the
Club des Feuillants
The Society of the Friends of the ConstitutionIt was the original name of the Jacobin Club until his radicalization of Republic's birth. (french: Société des Amis de la Constitution), better known as Feuillants Club ( french: Club des Feuillants ...
. In 1792 he defended the refractory priests whose deportation had been voted for. Ramond passionately supported the action of La Fayette, who tried to temper the over-enthusiasm of the Jacobins. His life in danger, Ramond decided to flee Paris in August and seek refuge in the Pyrenees. Under surveillance and regarded as suspect, he left for Barèges, where he was able to indulge in his botanizing and mountain observations to his heart's content.
He was arrested in 1794 and accused of being an enemy of the Revolution. Imprisoned in
Tarbes
Tarbes (; Gascon: ''Tarba'') is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region of southwestern France. It is the capital of Bigorre and of the Hautes-Pyrénées. It has been a commune since 1790. It was known as ''Turba'' ...
for seven months, his was a lucky escape from the guillotine.
From 1796 he devoted himself exclusively to natural history. He corresponded with Philippe Picot of Lapeyrouse (1744–1818) and various botanists such as René Desfontaines, Jean Thore (1762–1823) and Domenica Villars (1745–1814). From 1796, he taught as professor of natural history at the new Central School of Tarbes, where his courses were an immediate success, and he soon became a specialist in the botany and geology of the central Pyrenees. In 1797, he was finally able to concentrate on a project which had long intrigued him: to reach the top of Monte Perdido (3,355 m) to counter the theories of Dolomieu and Lapeyrouse on the 'early era' of the limestone of the central chain. The expedition, which comprised about fifteen people, including Picot of Lapeyrouse and several of Ramond's pupils, found many fossils, but did not reach the top. The account of the expedition appeared in 1797 under the title of ''Voyage au Mont-Perdu et dans la partie adjacente des Hautes-Pyrénées'' (''Voyage to Monte Perdido and the neighbouring parts of the High Pyrenees''). On 7 September the same year, again accompanied by his pupils and Charles-François Brisseau de Mirbel (1776–1854), Ramond made a second attempt. The administrator and forester Étienne-François Dralet (1760–1844) also took part in the expedition. But it was only in 1802 that he reached finally the top. Ramond reported this ascent in the ''Journal de Mines'' (in Thermidor year XI). He corresponded in particular with René Just Haüy (1743–1822),
Alexandre Brongniart
Alexandre Brongniart (5 February 17707 October 1847) was a French chemist, mineralogist, geologist, paleontologist, and zoologist, who collaborated with Georges Cuvier on a study of the geology of the region around Paris. Observing fossil content ...
(1770–1847) and Jean Florimond Boudon de Saint-Mercy (1748–1831).
After the Central School of Tarbes closed, he returned to Paris in 1800 as a member of the Constitutional Council. From 1800 to 1806, he worked with the Parliament, as well as taking part in the work of the '' Société des observateurs de l'homme'' and becoming a member of the French Academy of Sciences in January 1802. He married Bonne-Olympe in 1805, widow of General Louis-Nicolas Chérin and the daughter of his friend Bon-Joseph Dacier (1742–1833). As a friend of
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 ...
, Ramond was named vice-president of the Corps législatif, then in 1806 he became prefect of
Puy-de-Dôme
Puy-de-Dôme (; oc, label= Auvergnat, lo Puèi de Doma or ''lo Puèi Domat'') is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in the centre of France. In 2019, it had a population of 662,152.Conseil d'État and did not leave Paris again except to go to Auvergne. In 1821, he spent the summer in Auvergne with René Desfontaines and two young naturalists, Victor Jacquemont (1801–1832) and Count Hippolyte Jaubert (1798–1874). He published finally, in 1825, ''Sur l’état de la végétation au sommet du Pic du Midi'', (''On the Condition of the Vegetation on the Summit of the Pic du Midi''), this being the Pic du Midi de Bigorre, not its more shapely
namesake
A namesake is a person, geographic location, or other entity bearing the name of another.
History
The word is first attested around 1635, and probably comes from the phrase "for one's name's sake",
which originates in English Bible translations ...
. On his death in 1827 Ramond was buried in the cemetery of
Montmartre
Montmartre ( , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Right Bank. The historic district established by the City of Paris in 1995 is bordered by Rue Ca ...
.
Commemoration
* One
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
Gesneriaceae
Gesneriaceae, the gesneriad family, is a family of flowering plants consisting of about 152 genera and ca. 3,540 species in the tropics and subtropics of the Old World (almost all Didymocarpoideae) and the New World (most Gesnerioideae), ...
– a remnant of the flora of the
Tertiary
Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago.
The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...
– was dedicated to him by the botanist Jean Michel Claude Richard (1787–1868). It grows between an elevation of 1,200 m and 2,500 m in the cracks of
schist
Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes ...
rocks. There are two other species in the genus '' Ramonda'', '' R. nathaliae'' and '' R. serbica'', both of which are found in the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
; the genus is the only one in the Gesneriaceae found outside the tropics or the sub-tropics.
* The
Soum de Ramond
Soum de Ramond, also known as Pico de Añisclo in Spanish and Aragonese, is a mountain of 3,263 metres in the Monte Perdido massif in the Aragonese Pyrenees in northern Spain. It is one of the three mountains comprising ''Las Tres Sorores'', t ...
(3,263 m) (known in Spanish as Pico Añisclo) in the Monte Perdido massif is named after him. (''See'' photograph above left.)
* His name is also given to
Pic Ramougn
Pic Ramougn (3,011 m) is a steep, rocky mountain in the Néouvielle massif in the Pyrenees.
It is located in the commune of Saint-Lary-Soulan within the department of the Hautes-Pyrénées, and is named after the French politician, geologist and ...
. (in Spanish) ''Ramougn'' is the pronunciation of ''Ramond'' in the Gascon language.
* Bory de Saint Vincent gave Ramond's name to a chain of craters (''Puy Ramond'') on the
Piton de la Fournaise
Piton de la Fournaise (; en, "Peak of the Furnace") is a shield volcano on the eastern side of Réunion island (a French overseas department and region) in the Indian Ocean. It is currently one of the most active volcanoes in the world, al ...
in Réunion: they are regularly visited by walkers on the GR route which crosses Réunion from north to south, and by the thousands of runners who take part in the ''Diagonale des Fous'' each year.
* The
Société Ramond
The Société Ramond is a French learned society devoted to the study of the Pyrenees mountain range that forms a natural border between France and Spain. It is named after the French politician, geologist, botanist and explorer Louis Ramond de C ...
Farnham Maxwell-Lyte
Farnham Maxwell-Lyte FRSC (sometimes Farnham Maxwell Lyte) (10 January 1828 – 4 March 1906) was an English chemist and the pioneer of a number of techniques in photographic processing. As a photographer he is known for his views of the Frenc ...
. It wanted to distinguish itself from traditional academic societies, while still being devoted primarily to the scientific and ethnographic study of the Pyrenees and to the dissemination of knowledge. Ramond, who had excelled in these disciplines, was the best symbol for the new society. The Ramond Society still publishes an annual bulletin.
*Ramond's herbarium can be seen at the Muséum de l'histoire naturelle in Bagnères-de-Bigorre.
References
Works
*
Bibliography
*Benoît Dayrat, ''Les Botanistes et la Flore de France, trois siècles de découvertes'', 2003, Publication scientifiques du
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 ...
, 690 pp.
*Henri Béraldi, ''Cent ans aux Pyrénées'', Paris, 1898–1904, seven volumes in octavo. Reissued by Les Amis du Livre Pyrénéen, Pau, 1977, then by the Librairie des Pyrénées et de Gascogne, Pau, 2001.