Philippe Macquer (15 February 1720, Paris – 27 January 1770) was a French historian and lawyer. His brother was the chemist Pierre Joseph Macquer.

Life

He came from a family of Scottish origins. His health did not allow him to devoted himself to being a lawyer to the Parlement of Paris and so he dedicated himself to literature. He is notable for his summaries of history, known for their clarity and precision in a similar vein to président Hénault. He contributed to the ''Dictionnaire portatif des arts et métiers'' (1766, 2 vol. in-8°, republished and expanded by abbé Pierre Jaubert as ''Dictionnaire raisonné universel des arts et métiers'', 1773, 4 vol.). This work was strongly critiqued by Melchior Grimm, spokesman for the Encyclopédistes - he accused Macquer of plagiarism. The controversy is analysed by Jacques Proust.''Revue d’histoire des sciences et de leurs applications'', 1958, vol. 11, no. 4, pages 330-36.

Works

* ''Abrégé chronologique de l'histoire ecclésiastique, de 33 à 1700'', 1751, 2 volumes ; 1757 ; expanded by abbé Joseph Antoine Toussaint Dinouart, 1768, 3 volumes ; published in Italian, 1757 ; published in German by abbé Rauscher, Vienna, 1788, 4 volumes in octavo * ''Annales romaines ou abrégé chronologique de l'histoire romaine depuis la fondation de Rome jusqu'aux empereurs'', 1756 ; La Haye, 1757; translated into English by Thomas Nugent * ''Abrégé chronologique de l'histoire d'Espagne et de Portugal'', collaboration with

Jacques Lacombe Jacques Lacombe, (born July 14, 1963 in Cap-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec) is a Canadian conductor. Lacombe began his musical learning with choral singing. He later trained as an organist, and continued his studies at the Conservatoire de musique du ...

and Charles-Jean-François Hénault, 1759, 2 volumes * ''Dictionnaire portatif des Arts et Métiers, contenant en abrégé l’histoire, la description & la police des arts & métiers, des fabriques & manufactures de France & des pays étrangers'', Paris : chez Jacques Lacombe, 1766, 2 volumes in octavo ; Yverdon, 1766-1767, in octavo ; Amsterdam : Arkstée et Merkus, 1767, 2 volumes in octavo * with l'abbé Jaubert, ''Dictionnaire raisonné universel des Arts et Métiers, contenant leur description, et la police des manufactures de France et des pays étrangers'', Paris : chez Pierre-François Didot jeune (1731-1795), 1773, 4 volumes in octavo ; Lyon : A. Leroy, 1793-1801, 5 volumes in octavo ; frequently republished (the first edition was produced by Macquer in 1766, but Jaubert's several additions meant that the work no longer appeared under Macquer's name)

References

Sources

* Cardinal Georges Grente (ed.), ''Dictionnaire des lettres françaises. Le siecle XVIII'', new edition edited and published under François Moureau, Paris, Fayard, 1995. {{DEFAULTSORT:Macquer, Philippe French people of Scottish descent 18th-century French historians Writers from Paris 1720 births 1770 deaths