Général is the French word for general. There are two main categories of generals: the general officers (), which are the highest-ranking commanding officers in the armed forces, and the specialist officers with flag rank (), which are high-level offic ...

Georges-François Perrier (28 October 187216 February 1946) was a French geodesist and military general. From 1922 to 1946, he served as

secretary general Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

of the

International Association of Geodesy The International Association of Geodesy (IAG) is a constituent association of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics focusing on the science which measures and describes the Figure of the Earth, Earth's shape, its rotation and gravity ...

and from 1922 to 1945 as 1st

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

of the ''

Bulletin Géodésique The ''Journal of Geodesy'' is an academic journal about geodesy published by Springer on behalf of the International Association of Geodesy (IAG). It is the merger and continuation of ''Bulletin Géodésique'' and ''manuscripta geodaetica'' (both ...

''. He was a teacher to

Pierre Tardi Pierre Antoine Ernest Tardi (4 June 1897 – 5 August 1972) was a French geophysicist, astronomer, and geographer. From 1946 to 1960, he was the secretary general of the International Association of Geodesy, and editor-in-chief of the ''Bulletin ...

, who succeeded Perrier in both these capacities in 1946. Perrier wrote the

preface __NOTOC__ A preface () or proem () is an introduction to a book or other literature, literary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is a ''foreword'' and precedes an author's preface. The preface o ...

to Tardi's 1934 ''Traité de Géodésie'', and the two were also editors of the ''Bibliographie Géodesique Internationale.'' Born in

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

on 28 October 1872, he was christened Antoine François Jacques Justin Georges Perrier. Though his father, geodesist François Perrier died when Georges was only 16, he decided to follow in his father's footsteps, joining the

École polytechnique (, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...

in 1892. After graduating, in 1898, he joined the

Service géographique de l'armée Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a ...

. In 1901, while a member of the service, he was made a part of the French party sent to the equator in South America for remeasurements of results from an 18th-century expedition. The weather was notably an issue during this mission. Following the necessary parts of his work in South America, he remained in the region—he was there for five years total—where he gained a working knowledge of

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

. Late in 1906, he returned to France and published his findings from the mission. He married soon after returning, and had eight children, of which two sons died before starting their careers. He spent time serving on multiple boundary commissions until the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He had already been promoted to the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

from his work in South America, so during the course of the war he was promoted to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

and lieutenant colonel, as well as being honored with the rank of commander in the

Legion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

. During the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

and into the course of World War II, Perrier was involved with multiple roles in geodesy organizations. Starting in 1919, he was chief of the Service géographique de l'armée's geodesy section, and he later became secretary of the International Association of Geodesy. From 1929 to 1931 he served as president of the

Société astronomique de France The Société astronomique de France (SAF; ), the France, French astronomical society, is a non-profit association in the public interest organized under French law (Association loi de 1901). Founded by astronomer Camille Flammarion in 1887, its ...

. When

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

broke out, all elected members within the International Association of Geodesy remained in their positions until elections could resume after the war. Perrier died on 16 February 1946; his last words were disappointment of not being able to work on geodesy any longer.

Notes

References

Further reading

Biographical

Geodesic