Jean-André Mongez (21 November 1750 – May 1788) was a French
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
and
mineralogist
Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical mineralogy, optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifact (archaeology), artifacts. Specific s ...
. He is presumed to have died at
Vanikoro
Vanikoro (sometimes wrongly named ''Vanikolo'') is an island in the Santa Cruz Islands, Santa Cruz group, located to the Southeast of the main Santa Cruz group. It is part of the Temotu Province of Solomon Islands.
The name ''Vanikoro'' is alway ...
, on the
La Pérouse expedition.
Life
Mongez was born 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 ...
. He joined the
canons regular
The Canons Regular of St. Augustine are Catholic priests who live in community under a rule ( and κανών, ''kanon'', in Greek) and are generally organised into Religious order (Catholic), religious orders, differing from both Secular clergy, ...
s of
Sainte-Geneviève Abbey in Paris and devoted himself to scientific studies, giving his findings to several scholarly societies.
As editor of the ''
Journal de Physique'', he belonged to the Société d’histoire naturelle at the
académies de Rouen,
Dijon
Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...
and
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 ...
. Many had called for him to enter the
Académie des sciences
The French Academy of Sciences (, ) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...
when he left in 1785 as doctor and
almoner
An almoner () is a chaplain or church officer who originally was in charge of distributing money to the deserving poor. The title ''almoner'' has to some extent fallen out of use in English, but its equivalents in other languages are often used f ...
to the Pérouse expedition. He had been presented for this role by his abbot at
Sainte-Geneviève Abbey,
Pingré, and his talents also extended to
ornithology
Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...
,
entomology
Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...
, water chemistry, and mineral salts. He received patents from the
Jardin royal des plantes to collect for it before setting out.
In the course of the journey, at
Ténérife, all the ship's scholars climbed the mountain, with
La Martinière collecting plants and
Monneron making an attempt to level out the peak (which failed since the muletiers refused to go right to the top). Father
Louis Receveur and his colleagues
Lamanon
Lamanon () is a Communes of France, commune located in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department, part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in southern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Lamanonais'' in Fr ...
and Mongez experimented on air, magnetics and electricity at the peak. At
Macao
Macau or Macao is a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most densely populated region in the world.
Formerly a Portuguese colony, the ter ...
Lamanon, La Martinière, Mongez and Receveur addressed a collective letter to
Lapérouse complaining that he did not listen to them sufficiently.
Publications
*''Description, usages et avantages de la machine pour la fracture des jambes d'
Albert Pieropan'', 1782, in-8° ;
*''Manuel du minéralogiste, etc., traduit de
Bergmann et augmenté de Notes''.
See also
*
European and American voyages of scientific exploration
The era of European and American voyages of scientific exploration followed the Age of Discovery and were inspired by a new confidence in science and reason that arose in the Age of Enlightenment. Maritime expeditions in the Age of Discovery were ...
Sources
site geneanet samlap*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mongez
1750 births
1788 deaths
18th-century French Roman Catholic priests
French mineralogists
Members of the French Academy of Sciences
Clergy from Lyon
Scientists from Lyon