Baron Pierre-Jacques-Nicolas Rolland (17 June 1769 – 9 December 1837) was a French naval architect and engineer. Pierre-Jacques-Nicolas Rolland was born on 17 June 1769 in the harbour town of Brest, into the family of Pierre Nicolas Rolland, engineer-constructor of the Brest Port. He followed his father's footsteps and in 1785, at the age of 16 entered the service at Rochefort Port. In 1795 he fought the British fleet at the naval

battle of Genoa The Battle of Genoa (also known as the Battle of Cape Noli and in French as ''Bataille de Gênes'') was a naval battle fought between French and allied Anglo-Neapolitan forces on 14 March 1795 in the Gulf of Genoa, a large bay in the Ligurian S ...

on board the French ship ''Sans Culotte''.Better known as ''Orient'', as she was named at the

Battle of the Nile The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay; ) was fought between the Royal Navy and the French Navy at Abu Qir Bay, Aboukir Bay in Ottoman Egypt, Egypt between 1–3 August 1798. It was the climax of the Mediterranean ca ...

Ten years later he was already an established engineer and shortly thereafter chief engineer. In 1802 the launching (under his direction) of two major ships, the ''République-Française'' and the ''Magnanime'', drew the attention of

Denis Decrès Vice-Admiral Denis Decrès (18 June 1761 – 7 December 1820) was a French Navy officer who served as Minister of the Navy and the Colonies from 1801 to 1814 and again in 1815. Early career Decrès was born in Châteauvillain, Haute-Marne ...

, Minister of the Navy, and of

Napoléon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

himself to the young engineer. In 1808, Bonaparte visited Rochefort's naval dockyard and was highly satisfied with Rolland's work there. He therefore ordered him to relocate his office to Paris as shipwright advisor and awarded him the title of "lieutenant-general-inspector of Naval Engineers". In 1811 he was assigned to go from France to the

Kingdom of Holland The Kingdom of Holland ( (contemporary), (modern); ) was the successor state of the Batavian Republic. It was created by Napoleon Bonaparte in March 1806 in order to strengthen control over the Netherlands by replacing the republican governmen ...

in order to compare shipbuilding methods between these two countries. In 1817, Rolland became a close collaborator to

Jacques-Noël Sané Jacques-Noël Sané (18 February 1740 – 22 August 1831) was a French shipwright. He was the creator of standardised designs for ship of the line, ships of the line and frigates fielded by the French Navy in the 1780s, which served during the Fr ...

, and co-authored plans of 18-pounder frigates with him. He is notable credited for the ''Armide'' class. Rolland rose to general inspector of naval constructions ("inspecteur général du génie maritime") during the

Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to: France under the House of Bourbon: * Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815) Spain under the Spanish Bourbons: * Ab ...

, and took part in the

Commission de Paris The Commission de Paris was a body of French naval engineers gathered in 1821 to design the future frigates and ships of the line of the French Navy for the post-Empire era. Presided by Jacques-Noël Sané, the Commission comprised Jean-Marguerite ...

. In 1825 he was elevated by King Charles X to the rank of

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

. Pierre-Jacques-Nicolas Rolland died in Paris on 9 December 1837. He was awarded

Order of Saint Michael The Order of Saint Michael () is a French dynastic order of chivalry, founded by King Louis XI of France on 1 August 1469, in response to the Order of the Golden Fleece founded by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, Louis' chief competitor fo ...

and the

Order of Saint-Louis The Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis () is a dynastic order of chivalry founded 5 April 1693 by King Louis XIV, named after Saint Louis (King Louis IX of France). It was intended as a reward for exceptional officers, notable as the fir ...

in 1817, and Commander of the

Legion of Honour 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 society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

in 1831.

References

; Notes ; Citations
La frégate de 18.
Nicolas MIOQUE, ''Trois Ponts''
Biography
Annales maritimes et coloniales, vol. 22, p. 1311.
Portrait
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rolland, Pierre-Jacques-Nicolas Rolland First French Empire 1769 births 1837 deaths French Navy officers from Brest, France French naval architects