François Rozier
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Jean-Baptiste François Rozier (23 January 1734 in Saint-Nizier parish,
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
– 28/29 September 1793 in Lyon) was a French botanist and
agronomist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.) is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the Uni ...
.


Life

Rozier was the son of Antoine Rozier (a squire, king's counselor and provincial controller for war for the department of
Touraine Touraine (; ) is one of the traditional provinces of France. Its capital was Tours. During the political reorganization of French territory in 1790, Touraine was divided between the departments of Indre-et-Loire, :Loir-et-Cher, Indre and Vien ...
) and his wife. He was a 'knight' (i.e. canon) of the primatial church in Lyon, prior commendatory of
Nanteuil-le-Haudouin Nanteuil-le-Haudouin () is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. Population In popular culture The town was shown in a map of France in the movie Inglourious Basterds and credited as the fictional town of "Nadine". See also ...
and lord of Chevreville. Rozier studied in the Jesuit college at
Villefranche-sur-Saône Villefranche-sur-Saône (, ; ) is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France. It lies 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the river Saône, and is around north of Lyon. The inhabitants of the town are called ''Caladois''. History Villefran ...
and entered the Saint-Irénée seminary in
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
. Refusing to enter a more major seminary, he preferred to devote himself to science. He was ordained priest but lacked a vocation and thus became manager of his elder brother's estate in the Sainte-Colombe district on the banks of the Rhône, near
Vienne Vienne may refer to: Places *Vienne (department), a department of France named after the river Vienne *Vienne, Isère, a city in the French department of Isère * Vienne-en-Arthies, a village in the French department of Val-d'Oise * Vienne-en-Bessi ...
, after their father's death in 1757. He convinced his friends, including
Marc Antoine Louis Claret de La Tourrette Marc Antoine Louis Claret de La Tourrette (; 11 August 1729, in Lyon – 1 October 1793, in Lyon) was a French botanist. He corresponded with Rousseau and his official botanical abbreviation is Latourr. Family His father, Jacques-Annibal Claret ...
(1729–1793) and
Jean-Emmanuel Gilibert Jean-Emmanuel Gilibert (21 June 1741, in Lyon – 2 September 1814, in Lyon) was a French politician, botanist, freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval g ...
(1741–1814), into his schemes to convert the lands to pasture. He thus met
Claude Bourgelat Claude Bourgelat (27 March 1712 – 3 January 1779) was a French veterinary surgeon. He was a founder of scientifically informed veterinary medicine Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, me ...
(1712–1779), who set up a veterinary school in Lyon, where Rozier became professor of botany and
materia medica ''Materia medica'' ( lit.: 'medical material/substance') is a Latin term from the history of pharmacy for the body of collected knowledge about the therapeutic properties of any substance used for healing (i.e., medications). The term derives f ...
in 1761 and set up a major botanical garden. In 1765 he became the institution's teaching director but Bourgelat – who had become the director of the school in Alfort – was offended by Rozier's success and convinced the Bertin ministry to dismiss him in 1765. Rozier therefore returned to his family lands, where he was visited by
Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Republic of Geneva, Genevan philosopher (''philosophes, philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment through ...
. With his friend Claret de la Tourrette, he wrote ''Démonstrations élémentaires de botanique'', foregrounding the virtues of plants and combining the principles of Tournefort and
Linné Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming organism ...
. He came to Paris to edit the ''Journal de physique et d’histoire naturelle'' founded by Jacques Gautier d'Agoty, a periodical of which he became owner in 1771 and which he re-titled ''Journal d’observations sur la Physique, l’Histoire naturelle et sur les Arts et Métiers''. His nephew, abbé Mongez, a noted mineralogist, helped him for a time before joining the Lapérouse expedition. In 1775 and 1776, Rozier published ''Tables des Mémoires de l’Académie des Sciences'' (since its foundation until 1770, in four quarto volumes). In 1775
Anne Robert Jacques Turgot Anne Robert Jacques Turgot, Baron de l'Aulne ( ; ; 10 May 172718 March 1781), commonly known as Turgot, was a French economist and statesman. Sometimes considered a physiocrat, he is today best remembered as an early advocate for economic lib ...
(1727–1781) sent him to southern France to study local produce there in 1777 and to the Low Countries in 1777 accompanied by
Nicolas Desmarest Nicolas Desmarest (; 16 September 1725 – 20 September 1815) was a French geologist and contributor to the ''Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers'', in particular, the multi-volume ''Géographie-ph ...
(1725–1815) to study windmills. This gave him a steady post and independence that also included a stay in Poland at the court of
Stanisław August Poniatowski Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, and as Stanisław August Poniatowski (), was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuani ...
founding a garden and a chair in botany. In 1779 he became prior of the abbey at
Nanteuil-le-Haudouin Nanteuil-le-Haudouin () is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. Population In popular culture The town was shown in a map of France in the movie Inglourious Basterds and credited as the fictional town of "Nadine". See also ...
and began his ''Cours complet d’agriculture'', before returning to Lyon in 1786, where he accepted the post of director of a practical school of agriculture. He also became director of the Pépinière de la Province. Rozier had a particular interest in wine (he won a prize proposed by the Société d’agriculture de Limoges on the subject for an 8 volume treatise in 1770), in
Brassica rapa ''Brassica rapa'' is a plant species that has been widely cultivated into many forms, including the turnip (a root vegetable), komatsuna, napa cabbage, bomdong, bok choy, and rapini. ''Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''oleifera'' is an oilseed c ...
and in colza (1774). He was admitted to the Académie de Lyon. In 1779 he set himself up near
Béziers Béziers (; ) is a city in southern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. Every August Béziers ho ...
(''domaine de Beauséjour'') where he edited his ''Cours complet d'agriculture… ou Dictionnaire universel l'agriculture, par une société d'agriculteurs'' (twelve volumes, of which nine were by Rozier himself, 1781–1800). That same year, Rozier was elected a member of the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
. In 1786 Rozier became director of Lyon's agriculture school. He returned to Lyon a few years later and assisted in the early stages of the French Revolution, asking the first two assemblies to create a national agriculture school. He became curé constitutionnel of Sainte-Polycarpe parish in Lyon during the Revolution and was killed in his bed by a bomb during the
siege of Lyon The siege of Lyon occurred on 9 August to 9 October 1793 when French Republican forces laid siege and captured the city of Lyon, which was the centre of a revolt against the French government during the War of the First Coalition. Historical ...
. The last two volumes of the ''Cours Complet'' were published posthumously in 1796 and 1798. In 1801 his ''Traité théorique et pratique sur la culture de la vigne, avec l'art de faire le vin, les eaux-de-vie, esprit de vin, vinaigres…'' was published


Publications

* with Marc-Antoine-Louis Claret de la Tourrette, ''Démonstrations élémentaires de botanique, contenant les principes généraux de cette science, l’explication des termes, les fondemens des méthodes, et les élémens de la physique des végétaux ; la description des plantes les plus communes, les plus curieuses, les plus utiles, rangées suivant la méthode de M. de Tournefort et celle du chevalier Linné, leurs usages et leurs propriétés dans les arts, l’économie rurale, dans la médecine humaine et vétérinaire ; ainsi qu’une instruction sur la formation d’un herbier, sur la dessiccation, la macération, l’infusion des plantes...'', 1766 ; 2e éd., 1773, 2 vol. in-8° ; 3e éd. (corrigée et considérablement augmentée), Lyon, Bruyset frères, 1787, 3 vol. in-8° ; 4e éd. en 1793, 4 vol. ; Lyon, Bruyset aîné, 1796, 2 vol. in-4° * ''Mémoire sur la meilleure manière de faire et de gouverner les vins de Provence, soit pour l'usage, soit pour leur faire passer les mers, qui a remporté le prix au jugement de l'Académie de Marseille, en l'année 1770'', Marseille : F. Brébion, 1771 ; édition augmentée, Lausanne et Lyon, L. Rosset, 1772 * ''Démonstrations élémentaires de botanique, à l'usage de l'École royale vétérinaire'', Lyon, Jean-Marie Bruyset, 1773, 2 vol. * ''Observations sur la physique, sur l'histoire naturelle et sur les arts…'', Paris
''Cours complet d'agriculture théorique, pratique, économique, et de médecine rurale et vétérinaire, suivi d'une Méthode pour étudier l'agriculture par principes, ou Dictionnaire universel d'agriculture, par une société d'agriculteurs, et rédigé par M. l'abbé Rozier''
Paris : rue et hôtel Serpente (t. I-VII), chez Delalain fils (t. VIII), chez Moutardier (t. IX-X), 1781–1800, 10 vol. in-4° ; les tomes 9 et 10 paraissent après la mort de Rozier ; en 1805, deux volumes supplémentaires paraissent (Paris, Marchant, 2 vol. in-4°)
''Nouvelle table des articles contenus dans les volumes de l'Académie royale des sciences de Paris depuis 1666 jusqu'en 1770 : dans ceux des Arts et métiers publiés par cette Académie, et dans la collection académique''
1776Jugement
/ref> * ''Traité théorique et pratique sur la culture de la vigne, avec l'art de faire le vin, les eaux-de-vie, esprit de vin, vinaigres'', Paris : Delalain, 1801, 2 vol. * ''Dictionnaire d’agriculture et d’économie rurale'', Nîmes, J. Gaude, 1804, 2 vol in 1 vol in quarto


Bibliography

* Adrien Davy de Virville (ed.), ''Histoire de la botanique en France'', Paris : SEDES, 1955, 394 p. * Françoise Dissard, ''L’Abbé Rozier, second directeur de l’École nationale vétérinaire de Lyon (1765–1769)'', Thèse de doctorat vétérinaire, Lyon, 1987 * Ruth Janet Severson Haug, "The abbé François Rozier and agricultural reform", in ''Proceedings of the IVth annual Meeting of the Western Society for French history, 11–13 November 1976'', Reno (Nevada), Santa Barbara (CA) : Western Society for French history, 1977, * Yvette Maurin, "Un agronome en Biterrois : l’abbé Rozier", L’an I de la liberté en Languedoc et en Roussillon, ''Société archéologique, scientifique et littéraire de Béziers'', 1990, n° spécial, p. 13–18 * Douglas McKie, ''The ''Observations'' of the Abbé François Rozier (1734–93)'', in ''Annals of Science'', vol. 13, numéro 2, June 1957, p. 73–89 (17), Taylor and Francis Ltd. * Florian Reynaud, ''Les bêtes à cornes (ou l'élevage bovin) dans la littérature agronomique de 1700 à 1850'', Caen, doctoral thesis in history, 2009, appendix 2 (publications) et appendix 22 (biography) * Antonio Saltini, ''Storia delle scienze agrarie'', vol. II, ''I secoli della rivoluzione agraria'', Bologne, Edagricole, 1987, p. 369–402 * Arsène Thiébaut de Berneaud
''Éloge historique de l'abbé François Rozier, restaurateur de l'agriculture française''
A. Barbier, 1833, nb p. 92


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rozier, Francois 1734 births 1793 deaths Scientists from Lyon 18th-century French botanists Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Members of the French Academy of Sciences 18th-century agronomists Members of the American Philosophical Society