Camille Flammarion
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Nicolas Camille Flammarion
FRAS FRAS may refer to: * Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger ...
(; 26 February 1842 – 3 June 1925) was a French
astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...
and author. He was a prolific author of more than fifty titles, including
popular science ''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, incl ...
works about
astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...
, several notable early
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
novels, and works on
psychical research Parapsychology is the study of alleged psychic phenomena (extrasensory perception, telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis (also called telekinesis), and psychometry) and other paranormal claims, for example, those related to near- ...
and related topics. He also published the magazine '' L'Astronomie'', starting in 1882. He maintained a private observatory at Juvisy-sur-Orge, France.


Biography

Camille Flammarion was born in Montigny-le-Roi,
Haute-Marne Haute-Marne (; English: Upper Marne) is a department in the Grand Est region of Northeastern France. Named after the river Marne, its prefecture is Chaumont. In 2019, it had a population of 172,512.France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. He was the brother of Ernest Flammarion (1846–1936), the founder of the
Groupe Flammarion Groupe Flammarion () is a French publishing group, comprising many units, including its namesake, founded in 1876 by Ernest Flammarion, as well as units in distribution, sales, printing and bookshops (La Hune and Flammarion Center). Flammarion b ...
publishing house. In 1858 he became a
computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...
at the
Paris Observatory The Paris Observatory (french: Observatoire de Paris ), a research institution of the Paris Sciences et Lettres University, is the foremost astronomical observatory of France, and one of the largest astronomical centers in the world. Its histor ...
. He was a founder and the first president of the '' Société astronomique de France'', which originally had its own independent journal, ''BSAF'' (''Bulletin de la Société astronomique de France''), which was first published in 1887. In January 1895, after 13 volumes of '' L'Astronomie'' and 8 of ''BSAF'', the two merged, making ''L’Astronomie'' its bulletin. The 1895 volume of the combined journal was numbered 9, to preserve the ''BSAF'' volume numbering, but this had the consequence that volumes 9 to 13 of ''L'Astronomie'' can each refer to two different publications five years apart. The "
Flammarion engraving The Flammarion engraving is a wood engraving by an unknown artist, so named because its first documented appearance is in Camille Flammarion's 1888 book ("The Atmosphere: Popular Meteorology"). The text is also availablhere The wood engraving ha ...
" first appeared in Flammarion's 1888 edition of ''L’Atmosphère''. In 1907, he wrote that he believed that dwellers on
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...
had tried to communicate with the
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
in the past. He also believed in 1907 that a seven-tailed
comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ar ...
was heading toward Earth. In 1910, for the appearance of
Halley's Comet Halley's Comet or Comet Halley, officially designated 1P/Halley, is a short-period comet visible from Earth every 75–79 years. Halley is the only known short-period comet that is regularly visible to the naked eye from Earth, and thus the o ...
, he believed the gas from the comet's tail "would impregnate he Earth’satmosphere and possibly snuff out all life on the planet". As a young man, Flammarion was exposed to two significant social movements in the western world: the thoughts and ideas of Darwin and
Lamarck Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, chevalier de Lamarck (1 August 1744 – 18 December 1829), often known simply as Lamarck (; ), was a French naturalist, biologist, academic, and soldier. He was an early proponent of the idea that biolog ...
and the rising popularity of
spiritism Spiritism (French: ''spiritisme''; Portuguese: ''espiritismo'') is a spiritualist, religious, and philosophical doctrine established in France in the 1850s by the French teacher, educational writer, and translator Hippolyte Léon Denizard Riva ...
with spiritualist churches and organizations appearing all over Europe. He has been described as an "astronomer, mystic and storyteller" who was "obsessed by life after death, and on other worlds, and hoseemed to see no distinction between the two". He was influenced by Jean Reynaud (1806–1863) and his ''Terre et ciel'' (1854), which described a religious system based on the transmigration of souls believed to be reconcilable with both
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
and pluralism. He was convinced that souls after the physical death pass from planet to planet and progressively improve at each new incarnation. In 1862 he published his first book, ''The Plurality of Inhabited Worlds'', and was dismissed from his position at the
Paris Observatory The Paris Observatory (french: Observatoire de Paris ), a research institution of the Paris Sciences et Lettres University, is the foremost astronomical observatory of France, and one of the largest astronomical centers in the world. Its histor ...
later the same year. It is not quite clear if these two incidents are related to each other. In ''Real and Imaginary Worlds'' (1864) and ''Lumen'' (1887), he "describes a range of exotic species, including sentient plants which combine the processes of digestion and respiration. This belief in
extraterrestrial life Extraterrestrial life, colloquially referred to as alien life, is life that may occur outside Earth and which did not originate on Earth. No extraterrestrial life has yet been conclusively detected, although efforts are underway. Such life might ...
, Flammarion combined with a religious conviction derived, not from the
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
faith upon which he had been raised, but from the writings of Jean Reynaud and their emphasis upon the transmigration of souls. Man he considered to be a “citizen of the sky,” other worlds “studios of human work, schools where the expanding soul progressively learns and develops, assimilating gradually the knowledge to which its aspirations tend, approaching thus evermore the end of its destiny.” His psychical studies also influenced some of his
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
, where he would write about his beliefs in a cosmic version of
metempsychosis Metempsychosis ( grc-gre, μετεμψύχωσις), in philosophy, is the transmigration of the soul, especially its reincarnation after death. The term is derived from ancient Greek philosophy, and has been recontextualised by modern philoso ...
. In ''Lumen'', a human character meets the soul of an alien, able to cross the universe faster than light, that has been reincarnated on many different worlds, each with its own gallery of organisms and their evolutionary history. Other than that, his writing about other worlds adhered fairly closely to then current ideas in
evolutionary theory Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
and
astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...
. Among other things, he believed that all planets went through more or less the same stages of development, but at different rates depending on their sizes. The fusion of science, science fiction and the spiritual influenced other readers as well; "With great commercial success he blended scientific speculation with science fiction to propagate modern myths such as the notion that “superior” extraterrestrial species reside on numerous planets, and that the human soul evolves through cosmic reincarnation. Flammarion's influence was great, not just on the popular thought of his day, but also on later writers with similar interests and convictions." In the English translation of ''Lumen'', Brian Stableford argues that both
Olaf Stapledon William Olaf Stapledon (10 May 1886 – 6 September 1950) – known as Olaf Stapledon – was a British philosopher and author of science fiction.Andy Sawyer, " illiamOlaf Stapledon (1886-1950)", in Bould, Mark, et al, eds. ''Fifty Key Figures ...
and
William Hope Hodgson William Hope Hodgson (15 November 1877 – 19 April 1918) was an English author. He produced a large body of work, consisting of essays, short fiction, and novels, spanning several overlapping genres including horror, fantastic fiction, and sci ...
have likely been influenced by Flammarion.
Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
's ''The Poison Belt'', published 1913, also has a lot in common with Flammarion's worries that the tail of Halley's Comet would be poisonous for earth life.


Family

Camille was a brother of Ernest Flammarion and Berthe Martin-Flammarion, and uncle of a woman named Zelinda. His first wife was Sylvie Petiaux-Hugo Flammarion, and his second wife was
Gabrielle Renaudot Flammarion Gabrielle Renaudot Flammarion (née Renaudot) (31 May 1877 – 28 October 1962) was a French astronomer. She worked at the Camille Flammarion Observatory at Juvisy-sur-Orge, France, and was General Secretary of the Société Astronomique de Fr ...
, also a noted astronomer.


Mars

Beginning with
Giovanni Schiaparelli Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli ( , also , ; 14 March 1835 – 4 July 1910) was an Italian astronomer and science historian. Biography He studied at the University of Turin, graduating in 1854, and later did research at Berlin Observatory, ...
's 1877 observations, 19th-century astronomers observing
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...
believed they saw a network of lines on its surface, which were named "canals" by Schiaparelli. These turned out to be an optical illusion due to the limited observing instruments of the time, as revealed by better telescopes in the 1920s. Camille, a contemporary of Schiaparelli, extensively researched the so-called "canals" during the 1880s and 1890s. Like American astronomer
Percival Lowell Percival Lowell (; March 13, 1855 – November 12, 1916) was an American businessman, author, mathematician, and astronomer who fueled speculation that there were canals on Mars, and furthered theories of a ninth planet within the Solar System. ...
, he thought the "canals" were artificial in nature and most likely the "rectification of old rivers aimed at the general distribution of water to the surface of the continents." He assumed the planet was in an advanced stage of its habitability, and the canals were the product of an intelligent species attempting to survive on a dying world.


Psychical research

Flammarion approached
spiritism Spiritism (French: ''spiritisme''; Portuguese: ''espiritismo'') is a spiritualist, religious, and philosophical doctrine established in France in the 1850s by the French teacher, educational writer, and translator Hippolyte Léon Denizard Riva ...
, psychical research and
reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...
from the viewpoint of the
scientific method The scientific method is an empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has characterized the development of science since at least the 17th century (with notable practitioners in previous centuries; see the article history of scientific m ...
, writing, "It is by the scientific method alone that we may make progress in the search for truth. Religious belief must not take the place of impartial analysis. We must be constantly on our guard against illusions." He was very close to the French author
Allan Kardec Allan Kardec () is the pen name of the French educator, translator, and author Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail (; 3 October 1804 – 31 March 1869). He is the author of the five books known as the Spiritist Codification, and the founder of S ...
, who founded
Spiritism Spiritism (French: ''spiritisme''; Portuguese: ''espiritismo'') is a spiritualist, religious, and philosophical doctrine established in France in the 1850s by the French teacher, educational writer, and translator Hippolyte Léon Denizard Riva ...
.in "Death and Its Mystery", 1921, 3 volumes. Translated by Latrobe Carroll (1923, T. Fisher Unwin, Ltd. London: Adelphi Terrace.). Partial online version a
Manifestations of the Dead in Spiritistic Experiments
Flammarion had studied
mediumship Mediumship is the practice of purportedly mediating communication between familiar spirits or ghost, spirits of the dead and living human beings. Practitioners are known as "mediums" or "spirit mediums". There are different types of mediumship o ...
and wrote, "It is infinitely to be regretted that we cannot trust the loyalty of mediums. They almost always cheat". However, Flammarion, a believer in psychic phenomena, attended séances with
Eusapia Palladino Eusapia Palladino (alternative spelling: ''Paladino''; 21 January 1854 – 16 May 1918) was an Italian Spiritualist physical medium. She claimed extraordinary powers such as the ability to levitate tables, communicate with the dead through he ...
and claimed that some of her phenomena were genuine. He produced in his book alleged levitation photographs of a table and an impression of a face in
putty Putty is a material with high plasticity, similar in texture to clay or dough, typically used in domestic construction and repair as a sealant or filler. Although some types of putty (typically those using linseed oil) slowly polymerise and be ...
.
Joseph McCabe Joseph Martin McCabe (12 November 1867 – 10 January 1955) was an English writer and speaker on freethought, after having been a Roman Catholic priest earlier in his life. He was "one of the great mouthpieces of freethought in England". Becomi ...
did not find the evidence convincing. He noted that the impressions of faces in putty were always of Palladino's face and could have easily been made, and she was not entirely clear from the table in the levitation photographs. His book ''The Unknown'' (1900) received a negative review from the psychologist
Joseph Jastrow Joseph Jastrow (January 30, 1863 – January 8, 1944) was a Polish-born American psychologist, noted for inventions in experimental psychology, design of experiments, and psychophysics. He also worked on the phenomena of optical illusions, ...
who wrote "the work's fundamental faults are a lack of critical judgment in the estimation of evidence, and of an appreciation of the nature of the logical conditions which the study of these problems presents." After two years investigation into
automatic writing Automatic writing, also called psychography, is a claimed psychic ability allowing a person to produce written words without consciously writing. Practitioners engage in automatic writing by holding a writing instrument and allowing alleged spir ...
he wrote that the
subconscious mind In psychology, the subconscious is the part of the mind that is not currently of focal awareness. Scholarly use of the term The word ''subconscious'' represents an anglicized version of the French ''subconscient'' as coined in 1889 by the psycho ...
is the explanation and there is no evidence for the spirit hypothesis. Flammarion believed in the survival of the
soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
after death but wrote that mediumship had not been scientifically proven. Even though Flammarion believed in the survival of the soul after death he did not believe in the
spirit hypothesis Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase) ...
of Spiritism, instead he believed that Spiritist activities such as ectoplasm and levitations of objects could be explained by an unknown "
psychic force is a 1995 fighting arcade game created by Taito which was ported to the PlayStation in 1996 and 1997. The PlayStation version was released by Acclaim in North America and PAL regions. The game is a 3D fighter which combines the normal features ...
" from the medium. He also believed that
telepathy Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic W ...
could explain some paranormal phenomena. In his book ''Mysterious Psychic Forces'' (1909) he wrote: In the 1920s Flammarion changed some of his beliefs on
apparitions Apparition may refer to: Supernatural *Apparitional experience, an anomalous, quasi-perceptual experience * A vision, something seen in a dream, trance, or religious ecstasy *Ghost, the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear ...
and
hauntings The list of reportedly haunted locations throughout the world, that are locations said to be haunted by ghosts or other supernatural beings, including demons. Reports of haunted locations are part of ghostlore, which is a form of folklore. Ar ...
but still claimed there was no evidence for the spirit hypothesis of
mediumship Mediumship is the practice of purportedly mediating communication between familiar spirits or ghost, spirits of the dead and living human beings. Practitioners are known as "mediums" or "spirit mediums". There are different types of mediumship o ...
in
Spiritism Spiritism (French: ''spiritisme''; Portuguese: ''espiritismo'') is a spiritualist, religious, and philosophical doctrine established in France in the 1850s by the French teacher, educational writer, and translator Hippolyte Léon Denizard Riva ...
. In his 1924 book ''Les maisons hantées'' (Haunted Houses) he came to the conclusion that in some rare cases hauntings are caused by departed souls whilst others are caused by the "remote action of the psychic force of a living person". The book was reviewed by the magician
Harry Houdini Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician ...
who wrote it "fails to supply adequate proof of the veracity of the conglomeration of hearsay it contains; it must, therefore, be a collection of myths." In a presidential address to the
Society for Psychical Research The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) is a nonprofit organisation in the United Kingdom. Its stated purpose is to understand events and abilities commonly described as psychic or paranormal. It describes itself as the "first society to condu ...
in October 1923 Flammarion summarized his views after 60 years of investigating
paranormal phenomena Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, Folk culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific under ...
. He wrote that he believed in
telepathy Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic W ...
, etheric doubles, the
stone tape The Stone Tape Theory is the speculation that ghosts and hauntings are analogous to tape recordings, and that mental impressions during emotional or traumatic events can be projected in the form of energy, "recorded" onto rocks and other item ...
theory and "exceptionally and rarely the dead do manifest" in hauntings. He was also a member of the
Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society, founded in 1875, is a worldwide body with the aim to advance the ideas of Theosophy in continuation of previous Theosophists, especially the Greek and Alexandrian Neo-Platonic philosophers dating back to 3rd century CE ...
.


Legacy

He was the first to suggest the names
Triton Triton commonly refers to: * Triton (mythology), a Greek god * Triton (moon), a satellite of Neptune Triton may also refer to: Biology * Triton cockatoo, a parrot * Triton (gastropod), a group of sea snails * ''Triton'', a synonym of ''Triturus' ...
and Amalthea for moons of
Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times ...
and
Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...
, respectively, although these names were not officially adopted until many decades later.
George Gamow George Gamow (March 4, 1904 – August 19, 1968), born Georgiy Antonovich Gamov ( uk, Георгій Антонович Гамов, russian: Георгий Антонович Гамов), was a Russian-born Soviet and American polymath, theoret ...
cited Flammarion as having had a significant influence on his childhood interest in science.


Honors

Named after him *
Flammarion (lunar crater) Flammarion is a lunar impact crater on the south edge of Sinus Medii. Its diameter is 76 km. It is named after the French astronomer Camille Flammarion. It is located between the crater Mösting to the northwest and Herschel to the sout ...
*
Flammarion (Martian crater) Flammarion is an impact crater in the Syrtis Major quadrangle on Mars at 25.2 ° N and 48.3 ° E. It is 173.0 km in diameter. Its name was approved in 1973, and refers to French astronomer Camille Flammarion. There may have been a lake in ...
*
Asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...
s: 1021 Flammario is named in his honour. In addition, 154 Bertha commemorates his sister;
141 Lumen Lumen ( minor planet designation: 141 Lumen) is a carbonaceous asteroid from the intermediate asteroid belt, approximately 130 kilometers in diameter. It is an identified Eunomian interloper. Description It was discovered on January 13, 187 ...
is named after Flammarion's book ''Lumen: Récits de l'infini''; 286 Iclea for the heroine of his novel ''Uranie''; and 605 Juvisia after
Juvisy-sur-Orge Juvisy-sur-Orge (, literally ''Juvisy on Orge'') is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located 18 km south-east of Paris, a few kilometres south of Orly Airport. The site of the town has been oc ...
, France, where his observatory is located. * In 1897, he received the Prix Jules Janssen, the highest award of the Société astronomique de France, the French astronomical society. * He was made a Commandeur de la Legion d'honneur.


Works

* ''La pluralité des mondes habités'' (The Plurality of Inhabited Worlds), 1862. * ''Real and Imaginary Worlds'', 1865. * ''God in nature'', 1866. Flammarion argues that the mind is independent of the brain. * ''L'atmosphère: Des Grands Phenomenes'', 1872. (Appears to be an earlier edition of ''L'atmosphère: météorologie populaire'' 1888 which does not have the Flammarion engraving). * ''Récits de l'infini'', 1872 (translated into English as ''Stories of Infinity'' in 1873). **''Lumen'', a series of dialogues between a man and a disembodied spirit which is free to roam the Universe at will. The novel includes observations about the implications of the finite velocity of light, and many images of otherworldly life adapted to alien circumstances. **''History of a Comet'' **''In Infinity'' * ''Distances of the Stars'', 1874. Popular Science Monthly V.5, Aug 1874. Translated in English from La Nature. ( available online) * ''Astronomie populaire'', 1880. His best-selling work, it was translated into English as ''Popular Astronomy'' in 1894. * ''Les Étoiles et les Curiosités du Ciel'', 1882. A supplement of the ''L'Astronomie Populaire'' works. An observer's handbook of its day. * ''De Wereld vóór de Schepping van den Mensch'', 1886. A paleontological work. * ''L'atmosphère: météorologie populaire'', 1888. * ''Uranie'', 1889 (translated into English as ''Urania'' in 1890). * ''La planète Mars et ses conditions d'habitabilité'', 1892. * ''La Fin du Monde'' (The End of the World), 1893 (translated into English as '' Omega: The Last Days of the World'' in 1894), is a science fiction novel about a
comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ar ...
colliding with the
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
, followed by several million years leading up to the gradual death of the planet, and has recently been brought back into print. It was adapted into a film in
1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...
by
Abel Gance Abel Gance (; born Abel Eugène Alexandre Péréthon; 25 October 188910 November 1981) was a French film director and producer, writer and actor. A pioneer in the theory and practice of montage, he is best known for three major silent films: ''J ...
. * ''Stella'' (1897) * ''L’inconnu et les problèmes psychiques'' (published in English as: L’inconnu: The Unknown), 1900, a collection of psychic experiences. * ''Mysterious psychic forces: an account of the author's investigations in psychical research, together with those of other European savants'', 1907 * ''Death and its mystery—proofs of the existence of the soul; Volume 1—Before death'', 1921 * ''Death and its mystery—proofs of the existence of the soul; Volume 2—At the moment of death'', 1922 * ''Death and its mystery—proofs of the existence of the soul; Volume 3—After death'', 1923 * ''Dreams of an Astronomer'', 1923 * ''Haunted houses'', 1924 Source:


See also

*
Flammarion engraving The Flammarion engraving is a wood engraving by an unknown artist, so named because its first documented appearance is in Camille Flammarion's 1888 book ("The Atmosphere: Popular Meteorology"). The text is also availablhere The wood engraving ha ...


References


External links

* * * *
Atlas cèleste, Paris 1877
at AtlasCoelestis.com] * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flammarion, Camille 1842 births 1925 deaths 19th-century apocalypticists 19th-century French novelists 19th-century French male writers 20th-century apocalypticists 20th-century French astronomers 20th-century French male writers 19th-century French astronomers French balloonists French male novelists French science fiction writers Parapsychologists People from Haute-Marne Writers from Grand Est