The Prix Pierre Guzman (Pierre Guzman Prize) was the name given to two prizes, one astronomical and one medical. Both were established by the will of Anne Emilie Clara Goguet (died June 30, 1891), wife of Marc Guzman, and named after her son Pierre Guzman.

Astronomical

This prize was a sum of 100,000 francs, to be given to a person who succeeded in communicating with a celestial body, other than Mars, and receiving a response. Until this occurred, the will also allowed for the accumulated interest on the 100,000 francs to be given, every five years, to a person who had made significant progress in astronomy. The prize was to be awarded by the French

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 ...

.pp. 2-7 (minutes of meeting), ''Transactions of the New York Academy of Sciences'', series I, 11 (October–November 1891; issue 1-2), . Pierre Guzman had been interested in the work of

Camille Flammarion Nicolas Camille Flammarion FRAS (; 26 February 1842 – 3 June 1925) was a French astronomer and author. He was a prolific author of more than fifty titles, including popular science works about astronomy, several notable early science fiction ...

, the author of '' La planète Mars et ses conditions d'habitabilité'' (The Planet Mars and Its Conditions of Habitability, 1892). Communication with Mars was specifically exempted as many people believed that Mars was inhabited at the time and communication with that planet would not be a difficult enough challenge. The prize was later announced in 1900 by the French

. The five-yearly prize of interest was awarded, starting in 1905, as follows: * In Dec. 1905, to

Henri Joseph Anastase Perrotin Henri Joseph Anastase Perrotin (December 19, 1845 – February 29, 1904) was a French astronomer and a discoverer of minor planets. Some sources give his middle name as Athanase. In his early career, he and Guillaume Bigourdan were assis ...

. A portion of the prize was also given to

Louis Fabry Louis Fabry (20 April 1862 – 26 January 1939) was a French astronomer Biography Louis Fabry was born in Marseille in 1862 to a Provençal family with five boys. His brothers Charles, Eugène and Auguste were, respectively, a physicist, a math ...

. * In Dec. 1910, to

Maurice Loewy Maurice (Moritz) Loewy (15 April 1833 – 15 October 1907) was a French astronomer. Loewy was born in Vienna.According to investigations by Anneliese Schnell (''Maurice Loewy and the equatorial Coudé in Vienna'', Astronomische Nachrichten, Vol. ...

. The prize was awarded to the crew of

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 was a spaceflight conducted from July 16 to 24, 1969, by the United States and launched by NASA. It marked the first time that humans Moon landing, landed on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin l ...

in 1969.

Medical

This prize was a sum of 50,000 francs, to be awarded by the French

Académie de médecine An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

, to be given to a person who succeeded in developing an effective treatment for the most common forms of heart disease. Until this occurred, the will also allowed for the accumulated interest to be given yearly to someone who had made progress in heart disease. The yearly prize of interest was awarded as follows: * In 1903, to Paul Bergougnan. * In 1905, to Gillet, with an honorable mention to Braillon.pp. 424-425, ''Bulletin de l'Académie de médecine'', 3rd series, 54 (1905)

References

* p. 131, ''Patrick Moore's Data Book of Astronomy'', Patrick Moore and Robin Rees, 2nd ed., Cambridge University Press, 2011, . * p. 282, "Idée d'une Communication Entre les Mondes a Propos d'un Testament Astronomique", C. Flammarion, ''L'Astronomie'' 10 (1891), pp. 282–287, . * "The Strange Case of Madame Guzman and the Mars Mystique",

Frank H. Winter Frank H. Winter (born 1942) is an American historian and writer. He is the retired Curator of Rocketry of the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) of the Smithsonian Institution of Washington, D.C. Winter is also an internationally recognized hist ...

, ''Griffith Observer'' 48 (Feb. 1984), pp. 2–15, .
"Mme. Guzman's Curious Will"
''Chicago Tribune'', Sep. 14, 1891, p. 9. {{DEFAULTSORT:Guzman Prize Astronomy prizes Medicine awards Awards established in 1891 History of spaceflight Interstellar messages Awards of the French Academy of Sciences 1891 establishments in France

Astronomical

Medical

See also

References