Barral and Bixio 1850 plate - Udvar-Hazy Center

Jean-Augustin Barral (31 January 1819 – 10 September 1884) was a French

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 ...

and balloonist. Barral was born in

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

(Moselle). He studied at a polytechnic school and became a

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

as well as a professor of

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

and

agronomy Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...

. He wrote many works of

popular science Popular science (also called pop-science or popsci) is an interpretation of science intended for a general audience. While science journalism focuses on recent scientific developments, popular science is more broad ranging. It may be written ...

, especially concerning agriculture and irrigation, and became director of publication of scientific works. He was named perpetual secretary of the National Agricultural Society of France. He died in

Fontenay-sous-Bois Fontenay-sous-Bois () is a Communes of France, commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. Name The name Fontenay was recorded in the Middle Ages as ''Fontanetum'', meaning "the spring ...

in 1884. His name was included as one of the 72 names on the Eiffel Tower. He was a friend of

Jacques Alexandre Bixio Jacques Alexandre Bixio (20 November 1808 – 16 December 1865) was a French medical doctor, balloonist, and politician of Italian origin. Bxio was born in Chiavari, Italy, and published a number of works relating to agriculture. He was the first ...

Partial list of publications

*''L’Agriculture, les prairies et les irrigations de la Haute-Vienne'',

Imprimerie nationale IN Groupe () is a French company specialized in the production of secure documents such as identity cards and passports, which it designs and sells to various governments and companies. It is the continuation of the Imprimerie Nationale () of ...

, 1884 *''Les Irrigations dans le département de Vaucluse : rapport sur le concours ouvert en 1877 pour le meilleur emploi des eaux d'irrigation'', Imprimerie nationale, 1878 *''Les Irrigations dans le département des Bouches-du-Rhône : rapport sur le concours ouvert en 1875 pour le meilleur emploi des eaux d'irrigation'', Imprimerie nationale, 1876 *''Avenir de grandes exploitations agricoles établis sur les côtes du Vénézuéla'', 1881 19th-century French chemists 1819 births 1884 deaths French agronomists French balloonists Scientists from Metz École Polytechnique alumni 19th-century agronomists {{france-chemist-stub