Jean Mathieu de Chazelles
Encyclopedia
Jean Mathieu de Chazelles (24 July 1657 – 16 January 1710), French
hydrographer
, was born in Lyon
.
He was nominated professor of hydrography
at Marseilles in 1685, and in that capacity carried out various coast surveys. In 1693 he was engaged to publish a second volume of the Neptune français, which was to, include the hydrography of the Mediterranean. For this purpose he visited the Levant
and Egypt
. When in Egypt he measured the pyramids, and, finding that the angles formed by the sides of the largest were in the direction of the four cardinal points, he concluded that this position must have been intended, and also that the pole
s of the earth and meridian
s had not deviated since the erection of those structures. He was made a member of the Academy in 1695, and died in Paris
on the 16th of January 1710.
The botanist and explorer Louis Feuillée
was one of his pupils.
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France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
hydrographer
Hydrography
Hydrography is the measurement of the depths, the tides and currents of a body of water and establishment of the sea, river or lake bed topography and morphology. Normally and historically for the purpose of charting a body of water for the safe navigation of shipping...
, was born in Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
.
He was nominated professor of hydrography
Hydrography
Hydrography is the measurement of the depths, the tides and currents of a body of water and establishment of the sea, river or lake bed topography and morphology. Normally and historically for the purpose of charting a body of water for the safe navigation of shipping...
at Marseilles in 1685, and in that capacity carried out various coast surveys. In 1693 he was engaged to publish a second volume of the Neptune français, which was to, include the hydrography of the Mediterranean. For this purpose he visited the Levant
Levant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. When in Egypt he measured the pyramids, and, finding that the angles formed by the sides of the largest were in the direction of the four cardinal points, he concluded that this position must have been intended, and also that the pole
Geographical pole
A geographical pole is either of the two points—the north pole and the south pole—on the surface of a rotating planet where the axis of rotation meets the surface of the body...
s of the earth and meridian
Meridian (geography)
A meridian is an imaginary line on the Earth's surface from the North Pole to the South Pole that connects all locations along it with a given longitude. The position of a point along the meridian is given by its latitude. Each meridian is perpendicular to all circles of latitude...
s had not deviated since the erection of those structures. He was made a member of the Academy in 1695, and died in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on the 16th of January 1710.
The botanist and explorer Louis Feuillée
Louis Feuillée
Louis Éconches Feuillée was a French member of the Order of the Minims, explorer, astronomer, geographer, and botanist....
was one of his pupils.
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