Edme Hippolyte Marié-Davy (28 April 1820 – 26 July 1893) was a French chemist and inventor during the 19th century. He was born in

Clamecy, Nièvre Clamecy () is a Communes of France, commune and a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture (seat of an arrondissement) of the Nièvre Departments of France, department in central France. Clamecy is at the confluence of the Yonne (river), Yonne an ...

. In 1854, he invented the first naval

periscope A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position. In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...

, consisting of a vertical tube with two small mirrors fixed at each end at 45°. He also invented a mercury bisulfate battery that bears his name, "the Marie-Davy". In 1854, Marié-Davy invented an electromagnetic motor. Based on it, he proposed a

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

with an electrically driven propeller. McClintock and Watson once planned to use the device on the ''Hunley''. The engine was said to have the power of "a one-horse steam engine". In the 1860s, he was Deputy Director of the

Paris Observatory The Paris Observatory (, ), a research institution of the Paris Sciences et Lettres University, is the foremost astronomical observatory of France, and one of the largest astronomical centres in the world. Its historic building is on the Left Ban ...

, in charge of

meteorology Meteorology is the scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere and short-term atmospheric phenomena (i.e. weather), with a focus on weather forecasting. It has applications in the military, aviation, energy production, transport, agricultur ...

.Storm Watchers By John Cox p.90
/ref> He devoted himself to the study of local

thunderstorms A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are som ...

, following the destructive storm of 14 November 1854, in the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

References

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marie-Davy, Hippolyte 1820 births 1893 deaths 19th-century French inventors 19th-century French chemists