Antoine Groignard (4 February 1727 – 26 July 1799), was a French naval constructor who developed standard designs for French war ships, and built and improved the

dry docks Dry or dryness most often refers to: * Rain#Deserts, Lack of rainfall, which may refer to **Arid regions **Drought * Dry or dry area, relating to legal prohibition of selling, serving, or imbibing alcoholic beverages * Dry humor, deadpan * Drynes ...

at the French naval bases in

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

and Brest.

Family

Groignard was son of a

master mariner A master mariner is a licensed mariner who holds the highest grade of licensed seafarer qualification; namely, a master's license. A master mariner is therefore allowed to serve as the captain (nautical), master of a merchant ship for which natio ...

, admiralty pilot,

hydrographer Hydrography is the branch of applied sciences which deals with the measurement and description of the physical features of oceans, seas, coastal areas, lakes and rivers, as well as with the prediction of their change over time, for the primary ...

and

shipowner A shipowner, ship owner or ship-owner is the owner of a ship. They can be merchant vessels involved in the shipping industry or non commercially owned. In the commercial sense of the term, a shipowner is someone who equips and exploits a ship, us ...

. In 1767 he married Marie Élisabeth Catherine Boucher de la Boucherie, a daughter of a captain of troops in the service of the French East India Company. The couple had a son and a daughter; the son becoming a

frigate captain Frigate captain is a naval rank in the naval forces of several countries. Corvette captain lies one level below frigate captain. It is usually equivalent to the Commonwealth/US Navy rank of commander. Countries using this rank include Argenti ...

in the French navy.

Career

Groignard became a student at the shipbuilding school in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

(one of the predecessors of today's

ENSTA ParisTech The ENSTA Paris, officially École nationale supérieure de techniques avancées (; ), is a French graduate school of engineering (''école d'ingénieurs''). Founded in 1741, it is the oldest ''grande école'' in France. It is located in Palaisea ...

). Appointed assistant naval constructor at Brest in 1747 and at

Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the G ...

1749, he was promoted to naval constructor in 1754. Attached to the

French East India Company Compagnie des Indes () may refer to several French chartered companies involved in long-distance trading: * First French East Indies Company, in existence from 1604 to 1614 * French West India Company, active in the Western Hemisphere from 1664 t ...

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, he designed ships suitable for combat and commerce; among them the ''Duc de Duras'' that later became the famous American frigate ''Bon Homme Richard''. During the Seven Years' War, he distinguished himself in defending

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

against the British floating batteries. As an adviser to the minister of marine, he standardized the design of ships at the several naval dockyards of France. Promoted to chief constructor in 1769, he was put in charge of building the docks of

, solving the difficult technical problems involved. In 1782 Groignard was promoted to constructor general with the rank of

post-captain Post-captain or post captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy. The term "post-captain" was descriptive only; it was never used as a title in the form "Post-Captain John Smith". The term served to dis ...

, working on the docks at Brest putting them in condition to receive the largest ships of the Navy. He notably directed the construction of ''Bretagne''.Demerliac, ''1774—1792'', n°1, p. 15 He retired due to sickness in 1790. He was recalled to duty in 1792 and was in charge of the construction of

Port-de-Bouc Port-de-Bouc (; ) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, Southern France. Population See also *Communes of the Bouches-du-Rhône department The following is a list of the 119 communes of the Bouches-du-Rhône department of ...

from 1792 to 1795, and a project for draining the salt marshes of the

Marignane Marignane (; ) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southern France. Geography It is a component of the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis, and the largest suburb of the city of Marsei ...

in Saint-Miter from 1793 to 1794. Groignard was in charge of the naval administration of Toulon in preparation for the

French campaign in Egypt and Syria The French invasion of Egypt and Syria (1798–1801) was a military expedition led by Napoleon Bonaparte during the French Revolutionary Wars. The campaign aimed to undermine British trade routes, expand French influence, and establish a ...

."Antoine Groignard." ''Site officiel de la mairie de Solliès-Pont.''
Retrieved 2017-03-26."Antoine Groignard." ''L'Académie de marine.''
Retrieved 2017-03-26.

Awards

Groignard studied the stowage of ships and modified the positioning of the frames to increase its strength. In 1759 he was awarded the prize of the Academy of Sciences for a memoir on the solidity of vessels. In 1765, he won a prize from the Marine Academy with a memoir on the stowage of ships: "Mémoire sur l'arrimage des vaisseaux". Deputy member of this academy in 1752; full member 1769. Knight of the Order of Saint Louis 1775. Raised to

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

in 1780.

Legacy

''Rue Antoine Groignard'' is a

street A street is a public thoroughfare in a city, town or village, typically lined with Building, buildings on one or both sides. Streets often include pavements (sidewalks), pedestrian crossings, and sometimes amenities like Street light, streetligh ...

in Toulon named after him."Rue Antoine Groignard, Toulon, France." ''Actualité des feuilles de route des villes de France.''
Retrieved 2017-03-27.

References

; Notes ; Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Groignard, Antoine 1727 births 1799 deaths People from Var (department) French military personnel of the Seven Years' War French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French shipwrights 18th-century French artisans Knights of the Order of Saint Louis French nobility