Louis Guillaume Lemonnier
Encyclopedia
Louis-Guillaume Le Monnier (sometimes written as Lemonnier) (June 27, 1717 – September 7, 1799) was a French
natural scientist.
He was born near Vire
as the son of Pierre Le Monnier
(1675 – 1757), who was a scientist himself and a member of the French Academy of Sciences
. Louis-Guillaume's older brother was the astronomer Pierre Charles Le Monnier
.
Louis-Guillaume Le Monnier worked in physics, geology, medicine, and botany. In 1739 he accompanied the expedition of César-François Cassini de Thury
and Nicolas Louis de Lacaille
to extend the meridian
of Paris and documented mines
and the geology and botany along the route. In the same year, he also began working at the hospital of Saint Germain en Laye as a physician. He researched electrical phenomena, sending a current from a Leyden jar
through a wire 950 toise
s (about 1,850 m) long and concluded that electricity propagated "instantaneous" in the wire. Later research of his on electrical phenomena was concerned with thunderstorm
s and the "fair weather condition
".
Like his father and his brother before him, Louis-Guillaume became a member of the Académie des sciences on July 3, 1743, and he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society
on February 7, 1745, of which his brother also was a member. On June 30, 1746, one year after his brother, he also became a member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences
.
With Claude Richard he was one of the original organizers of Louis XV's botanic collection at Petit Trianon
. an undertaking quickly joined by Bernard de Jussieu
. Lemonnier was appointed professor of botany at the Jardin du Roi (later the Jardin des Plantes
) in 1759, filling a spot left by the death of Bernard de Jussieu
's brother Antoine
in April of the previous year. In 1786 he was succeeded as professor of botany by René Louiche Desfontaines
.
For Diderot's Encyclopédie
he wrote several entries, among them "Electricité", "Magnétisme", "Aimant" (Magnet
), and "Aiguille aimantée" (Compass needle). After 1759, he stopped publishing, though. In his later career, he became in 1770 "Premier médecin ordinaire" and in 1788 "Premier médecin du Roi".
His lover was Marie Louise de Rohan, Madame de Marsan, future Governess of the Children of France
.
His publications include:
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...
natural scientist.
He was born near Vire
Vire
Vire is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.- History :In 1123, Henri I Beauclerc, King of England and Duke of Normandy, had a redoubt constructed on a rocky hill top, which was surrounded by the Vire river...
as the son of Pierre Le Monnier
Pierre Lemonnier
Pierre Lemonnier was a French astronomer, a Professor of Physics and Philosophy at the Collège d'Harcourt , and a member of the French Academy of Sciences....
(1675 – 1757), who was a scientist himself and a member of the French Academy of Sciences
French Academy of 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 research...
. Louis-Guillaume's older brother was the astronomer Pierre Charles Le Monnier
Pierre Charles Le Monnier
Pierre Charles Le Monnier was a French astronomer. His name is sometimes given as Lemonnier.-Biography:...
.
Louis-Guillaume Le Monnier worked in physics, geology, medicine, and botany. In 1739 he accompanied the expedition of César-François Cassini de Thury
César-François Cassini de Thury
César-François Cassini de Thury , also called Cassini III or Cassini de Thury, was a French astronomer and cartographer.- Biography :...
and Nicolas Louis de Lacaille
Nicolas Louis de Lacaille
Abbé Nicolas Louis de Lacaille was a French astronomer.He is noted for his catalogue of nearly 10,000 southern stars, including 42 nebulous objects. This catalogue, called Coelum Australe Stelliferum, was published posthumously in 1763. It introduced 14 new constellations which have since become...
to extend the 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...
of Paris and documented mines
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
and the geology and botany along the route. In the same year, he also began working at the hospital of Saint Germain en Laye as a physician. He researched electrical phenomena, sending a current from a Leyden jar
Leyden jar
A Leyden jar, or Leiden jar, is a device that "stores" static electricity between two electrodes on the inside and outside of a jar. It was invented independently by German cleric Ewald Georg von Kleist on 11 October 1745 and by Dutch scientist Pieter van Musschenbroek of Leiden in 1745–1746. The...
through a wire 950 toise
Toise
A toise is a unit of measure for length, area and volume originating in pre-revolutionary France. In North America, it was used in colonial French establishments in early New France, French Louisiana , and Quebec...
s (about 1,850 m) long and concluded that electricity propagated "instantaneous" in the wire. Later research of his on electrical phenomena was concerned with thunderstorm
Thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm, a lightning storm, thundershower or simply a storm is a form of weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere known as thunder. The meteorologically assigned cloud type associated with the...
s and the "fair weather condition
Fair weather condition
Fair weather condition concerns the electric field and the electric current in the air as well as the conductivity of the atmosphere. It is the electrostatic longitudinal modes and electromagnetic transverse mode or state of different meteorological conditions, concerning measurements of...
".
Like his father and his brother before him, Louis-Guillaume became a member of the Académie des sciences on July 3, 1743, and he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
on February 7, 1745, of which his brother also was a member. On June 30, 1746, one year after his brother, he also became a member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences
Prussian Academy of Sciences
The Prussian Academy of Sciences was an academy established in Berlin on 11 July 1700, four years after the Akademie der Künste or "Arts Academy", to which "Berlin Academy" may also refer.-Origins:...
.
With Claude Richard he was one of the original organizers of Louis XV's botanic collection at Petit Trianon
Petit Trianon
The Petit Trianon is a small château located on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France.-Design and construction:...
. an undertaking quickly joined by Bernard de Jussieu
Bernard de Jussieu
Bernard de Jussieu was a French naturalist, younger brother of Antoine de Jussieu.Bernard de Jussieu was born in Lyon...
. Lemonnier was appointed professor of botany at the Jardin du Roi (later the Jardin des Plantes
Jardin des Plantes
The Jardin des Plantes is the main botanical garden in France. It is one of seven departments of the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle. It is situated in the 5ème arrondissement, Paris, on the left bank of the river Seine and covers 28 hectares .- Garden plan :The grounds of the Jardin des...
) in 1759, filling a spot left by the death of Bernard de Jussieu
Bernard de Jussieu
Bernard de Jussieu was a French naturalist, younger brother of Antoine de Jussieu.Bernard de Jussieu was born in Lyon...
's brother Antoine
Antoine de Jussieu
Antoine de Jussieu was a French naturalist.Jussieu was born in Lyon, the son of Christophe de Jussieu , an apothecary of some repute, who published a Nouveau traité de la theriaque . Antoine studied at the university of Montpellier, and travelled with his brother Bernard through Spain, Portugal...
in April of the previous year. In 1786 he was succeeded as professor of botany by René Louiche Desfontaines
René Louiche Desfontaines
René Louiche Desfontaines was a French botanist.Desfontaines was born near Tremblay in Brittany. He attended the Collège de Rennes and in 1773 went to Paris to study medicine. His interest in botany originated from lectures at the Jardin des Plantes given by Louis Guillaume Lemonnier...
.
For Diderot's Encyclopédie
Encyclopédie
Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers was a general encyclopedia published in France between 1751 and 1772, with later supplements, revised editions, and translations. It was edited by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert...
he wrote several entries, among them "Electricité", "Magnétisme", "Aimant" (Magnet
Magnet
A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, and attracts or repels other magnets.A permanent magnet is an object...
), and "Aiguille aimantée" (Compass needle). After 1759, he stopped publishing, though. In his later career, he became in 1770 "Premier médecin ordinaire" and in 1788 "Premier médecin du Roi".
His lover was Marie Louise de Rohan, Madame de Marsan, future Governess of the Children of France
Governess of the Children of France
In France, the Governess of the Children of France , was charged with the education of the children and grand children of the monarch. The holder of the office was taken from the highest ranking nobility of France...
.
His publications include:
- Leçons de physique expérimentale, sur l'équilibre des liqueurs et sur la nature et les propriétés de l'air (1742).
- Observations d'histoire naturelle faites dans les provinces méridionales de France, pendant l'année 1739 (1744).
- Recherches sur la Communication de l'Electricité (1746).
- Observations sur l'Electricité de l'Air (1752).