Genevan scientist and mountaineer (1740?1799)
Portrait of Horace Benedict de Saussure (after the picture by Juel, in the Library at Geneva)
Horace Benedict de Saussure
(
French pronunciation:
[??as
benedikt
d?
sosy?]
; 17 February 1740 ? 22 January 1799) was a Genevan
[1]
geologist
,
meteorologist
,
physicist
,
mountaineer
and Alpine explorer, often called the founder of
alpinism
and modern meteorology, and considered to be the first person to build a successful
solar oven
.
Life and work
[
edit
]
Christian von Mechel,
Descent from Mont-Blanc in 1787 by H.B. de Saussure
, copper engraving; collection of
Teylers Museum
,
Haarlem
Horace Benedict de Saussure was born 17 February 1740, in
Conches
, near
Geneva
(
today in Switzerland but then an independent republic
), and died in
Geneva
22 January 1799.
Saussure's family were Genevan patricians. His father, Nicolas de Saussure, was an agriculturist and author.
[2]
Because his mother was sickly, Saussure was brought up by his mother's sister and her husband the Genevan naturalist
Charles Bonnet
who sparked Horace-Benedict's early interest in botany.
[3]
After attending the "College" of his hometown, he completed his studies at the Geneva Academy in 1759 with a dissertation on heat (
Dissertatio physica de igne
). In 1760, he made the first of numerous trips to Chamonix Valley, at the foot of
Mont Blanc
, to collect plant specimens for the noted Swiss anatomist, physiologist and botanist
Albrecht von Haller
.
[4]
In 1760, Saussure offered a reward to the first man to reach the summit of Mont Blanc.
[5]
Inspired by his uncle, Charles Bonnet, the young Saussure also did research on the physiology of plants and published
Observations sur l'ecorce des feuilles et des petales
(1762). The same year, at 22, he was elected professor of philosophy at the Academy of Geneva,
where he lectured on physics one year, and on logic and metaphysics the next. He taught there until 1786, occasionally also lecturing on geography, geology, chemistry, and even astronomy.
Saussure's early interest in botanical studies and glaciers
[7]
soon led him to undertake other journeys across the
Alps
. In 1767, he completed his first tour of Mont-Blanc, a trip that did much to reveal the
topography
of the snowy portions of the Alps of Savoy. He also carried out experiments on heat and cold, on the weight of the atmosphere and on electricity and magnetism. For this, he devised what became one of the first electrometers. Other trips led him to Italy, where he studied Mt. Etna and other volcanoes (1772?73),
[8]
and to the extinct volcanoes of the Auvergne, in France.
[9]
Although a patrician, Saussure held liberal views that induced him to present in 1774 a plan for the development of scientific education in the Geneva College, which would be open to all citizens, but this attempt failed. He was more successful in advocating the creation of the "Societe des Arts" (1776), inspired by the London Society for the Improvement of Arts.
Beginning in 1774, Saussure sought to reach the summit of Mont-Blanc on the side of Val Veny (now Italy) accompanied by the
Courmayeur
alpine guide
Jean-Laurent Jordaney
on the Miage glacier and on Mont Crammont.
[3]
In 1776 he ascended the
Buet
(3,096 m). He climbed the
Crammont
in 1774 and again in 1778, in which year he also explored the
Valsorey
glacier, near the
Great St Bernard
. In 1780 he climbed the
Roche Michel
, above the
Mont Cenis Pass
. In 1785, he made an unsuccessful attempt on Mont-Blanc by the
Aiguille du Gouter
route. Two Chamonix men,
Michel Paccard
and
Jacques Balmat
, attained the summit in 1786, by way of the
Grands Mulets
, and in 1787 Saussure himself made the third ascent of the mountain.
His achievements did much to attract tourists to places such as
Chamonix
.
Obsessed by the measurement of meteorological phenomena, Saussure invented and improved many kinds of apparatus, including the
magnetometer
,
[10]
the
cyanometer
for estimating the blueness of the sky,
[10]
[11]
the
diaphanometer
for judging the clarity of the atmosphere, the
anemometer
and the mountain
eudiometer
.
Of particular importance was a hair hygrometer that he devised and used for a series of investigations on atmospheric humidity, evaporation, clouds, fogs and rain (
Essais sur l'Hygrometrie
, 1783).
[10]
This instrument sparked a bitter controversy with
Jean-Andre Deluc
, who had invented a
whalebone
hygrometer.
[12]
Instruments invented by Saussure
-
Anemometer: a metal plate catches the wind and weight keep it still; their mass measure the strength of the wind (
MHS Geneva
).
-
Electrometer
-
-
Compound microscope made for Saussure by
Adams
, on display at
Musee d'histoire des sciences de la Ville de Geneve
-
Cyanometer
, used for measuring the blueness of the sky, from the collection of the Musee d'histoire des sciences de la Ville de Geneve
In 1788, Saussure spent 17 days making meteorological observations and physical measurements on the
Col du Geant
(3,371 m).
Print by Charles Simon Pradier after the portrait by
Jean-Pierre Saint-Ours
In 1789, Saussure climbed the
Pizzo Bianco
near
Macugnaga
, to observe the east wall of
Monte Rosa
, and crossed the
Theodulpass
(3,322 m) to
Zermatt
, which he was the first traveler to visit. On that occasion he climbed from the
pass
up the
Klein Matterhorn
(3,883 m), while in 1792 he spent three days making observations on the same pass without descending to Zermatt and then visited the
Theodulhorn
(3,472 m).
All of Saussure's observations and experiments from seven Alpine journeys were summed up and published in four quarto volumes, under the general title of
Voyages dans les Alpes (1779 ? 1796)
(There was an octavo issue in eight volumes, issued from 1780 to 1796). The non-scientific portions of the work were first published in 1834, and often since, as
Partie pittoresque des ouvrages de M. de Saussure
.
Significance
[
edit
]
The Alps were the focus of Saussure's investigations. He saw them as the grand key to the true theory of the earth, and they gave him the opportunity to study geology in a manner never previously attempted.
[13]
Saussure closely examined the inclination of the
strata
, the nature of the rocks, the
fossils
and the minerals.
Saussure had a thorough knowledge of the chemistry of the day and applied
[4]
it to the study of minerals, water and air. His geological observations made him a firm believer in the
Neptunian theory
: He regarded all rocks and minerals as deposited from aqueous solution or suspension, and attached much importance to the study of meteorological conditions.
His work with rocks, erosion, and fossils also led him to believe that the earth was much older than generally thought and formed part of the basis of
Darwin
's
Theory of Evolution
.
[14]
Saussure carried
barometers
and boiling-point
thermometers
to the summits of the highest mountains, and estimated the relative humidity of the atmosphere at different heights, its temperature, the strength of solar radiation, the composition of air and its transparency. Then, he investigated the temperature of the earth at all depths to which he could drive his thermometer staves, and the course, conditions and temperature of streams, rivers, glaciers and lakes, even of the sea.
Horace-Benedict de Saussure monument at
Chamonix
. Beside him is
Jacques Balmat
.
Saussure adapted the thermometer to many purposes: for ascertaining the temperature of the air he used one with a fine bulb hung in the shade or whirled by a string, the latter form being converted into an
evaporimeter
by inserting its bulb into a piece of wet sponge and making it revolve in a circle of known radius, at a known rate; for experiments on the earth and in deep water he employed large thermometers wrapped in non-conducting coatings so as to render them extremely sluggish, and capable of long retaining the temperature once they had attained it.
With these instruments Saussure showed that the bottom water of deep lakes is uniformly cold at all seasons, and that seasonal changes in temperature take six months to penetrate to a depth of 30 ft. in the earth. He recognized the immense advantages to meteorology of high-level observation stations, and whenever it was practicable he arranged for simultaneous observations to be made at different altitudes for as long periods as possible.
Saussure was particularly influential as a geologist,
[15]
and although his ideas on the underlying principles were often erroneous, he was instrumental in greatly advancing that science. He was an early user of the term "geology"?see the "Discours preliminaire" to volume I of his
Voyages
,
published in 1779?though by no means its inventor as some have claimed, the English word having been used in the 1680s and its Latin counterpart "geologia" during the previous several centuries.
In 1767, Saussure constructed the first known Western
solar oven
, trying several designs before determining that a well-insulated box with three layers of glass to trap outgoing thermal radiation produced the most heat.
[16]
The highest temperature he reached was 230 °F (110 °C), which he found did not vary significantly when the box was carried from the top of Mt. Crammont in the Swiss Alps down to the Plains of Cournier, 4,852 feet lower in altitude and 34 °F (19 °C) warmer in temperature, thereby establishing that the external air temperature played no significant role in this solar heating effect.
[17]
In 1784, Saussure was elected a foreign member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
; in 1788, a foreign member of the
Royal Society of London
;
[18]
in 1791, an associate foreign member of l'Academie des sciences de Paris.
[19]
Saussure died in 1799 in Geneva.
Saussurea pygmaea
, from the genus named after Saussure
Bust of Saussure, on display on the grounds of the
Conservatory and Botanical Garden of the City of Geneva
.
Recognition
[
edit
]
The
genus
of plants
Saussurea
, some adapted to growing in extreme high-alpine climates, is named after him and his plant-physiologist son Nicolas-Theodore de Saussure.
[21]
The
Alpine Botanical Garden Saussurea
, located at Pavillon du Mont Frety, first station for the
Skyway Monte Bianco
cable car, in
Courmayeur
, Aosta Valley, is named after it.
His work as a mineralogist was also recognized.
Saussurite
is named after him.
[22]
The lunar crater
Saussure
is also named after him.
Saussure was honoured by being depicted on the 20
Swiss franc banknote
of the sixth issue of
Swiss National Bank
notes (1979 to 1995, when replaced by the eighth issue; the notes were recalled in 2000 and became valueless on 1 May 2020).
Saussure's son
Nicolas-Theodore de Saussure
was a noted specialist in plant chemistry and an early pioneer in photosynthesis research.
His daughter
Albertine Necker de Saussure
was a pioneer in the education of women.
His great-grandson
Ferdinand de Saussure
was an important linguist and semiotician.
[23]
Trivia
[
edit
]
In his
On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason
,
[24]
while discussing how reason affects our perception of distance,
Arthur Schopenhauer
includes an anecdote that Saussure, "when on the Mont Blanc,... saw so enormous a moon rise, that, not recognizing what it was, he fainted with terror".
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
At his birth Geneva was an independent republic, and at his death it was the capital of the French department of
Leman
- ^
Zumkeller, Dominique. 2001. Un pere agronome: Nicolas de Saussure (1709-1791)" [An agronomist father: Nicolas de Saussure (1709-1791)]. In Sigrist, Rene (ed.) H.-B. de Saussure (1740-1799): un regard sur la terra [H.-B. de Saussure (1740-1799): A look at the Earth] (in French). Geneva: Bibliotheque d'Histoire des Sciences. Georg Editeur. pp. 395-408. ISBN 978-282570740-1
- ^
a
b
Douglas W. Freshfield,
Horace-Benedict de Saussure
, ed. Slatkine.
- ^
a
b
Douglas W. Freshfield,
Horace-Benedict de Saussure
, ed. Slatkine, p. 60.
- ^
Douglas W. Freshfield,
Horace-Benedict de Saussure
, ed. Slatkine, p. 69.
- ^
Albert V. Carozzi & John K. Newman, "Horace-Benedict de Saussure: Forerunner in glaciology",
Memoires de la SPHN
, vol. 48, 1995
- ^
Daniela Vaj, "Saussure a la decouverte de l'Italie (1772?1773)", in Rene Sigrist (ed.),
H.-B. de Saussure (1740?1799). Un regard sur la Terre
, Geneva, Georg, 2001, p. 269-299
- ^
Albert V.Carozzi,
Manuscrits et publications de Horace-Benedict de Saussure sur l'origine du basalte (1772?1797)
, Geneva, Editions Zoe, 2000
- ^
a
b
c
Archinard, Margarita (1988).
"Les instruments scientifiques d'Horace-Benedict de Saussure"
.
Le Monde Alpin et Rhodanien. Revue Regionale d'Ethnologie
.
16
: 151?164.
doi
:
10.3406/mar.1988.1367
. Retrieved
3 July
2021
.
- ^
Sella, Andrea (28 September 2010).
"Classic Kit: Saussure's cyanometer"
.
Royal Society of Chemistry, Chemistry World
. Retrieved
3 July
2021
.
- ^
Rene Sigrist, "Scientific standards in the 1780s: A controversy over hygrometers", in John Heilbron & Rene Sigrist (eds),
Jean-Andre Deluc. Historian of Earth and Man
, Geneva, Slatkine, 2011, p. 147-183
- ^
Albert V. Carozzi, "Forty years of thinking in front of the Alps: Saussure's (1796) unpublished theory of the Earth",
Earth Sciences History
, 8/2, 1989, pp. 123?140
- ^
"Connections 2" with James Burke, Episode 4 "Whodunit".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xSzT0u7G60
- ^
Marguerite Carozzi, "H.-B. de Saussure: James Hutton's obsession≫,
Archives des Sciences
, 53/2, 2000, p. 77-158
- ^
Rene Sigrist,
Le capteur solaire de Horace-Benedict de Saussure. Genese d'une science empirique
. Geneve, Passe-Present / Jullien, 1993.
[1]
- ^
Butti, Ken (1 December 2004).
"Horace de Saussure and his Hot Boxes of the 1700s"
. Solar Cooking Archive, Solar Cookers International (Sacramento, California). Archived from
the original
on 22 January 2010
. Retrieved
13 January
2010
.
- ^
"Saussure, Horace Benedict de, 17 February 1740 ? 22 January 1799"
(PDF)
. List of Fellows of the Royal Society, 1660?2007
. Retrieved
13 November
2016
.
- ^
"Saussure (Horace, Benedict de)"
. Liste des membres depuis la creation de l'Academie des sciences
. Retrieved
13 November
2016
.
- ^
International Plant Names Index
.
Sauss
.
- ^
Candolle, A.P. de, in
Annales du Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle.
16:197?198
- ^
Hunt, T. Sterry (1859).
"Contributions to the history of Euphotide and Saussurite"
.
American Journal of Science
. 27, second series (81): 337
. Retrieved
8 November
2016
.
- ^
Joseph, John E. (2012).
Saussure
. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press. pp. 38?40.
ISBN
9780199695652
.
- ^
Schopenhauer, Arthur (1903).
On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason and on the Will in Nature, English translation by Mme. Karl Hillebrand
. London: George Bell and Sons. p. 82.
References
[
edit
]
- Lives
by
J Senebier
(Geneva, 1801), by
Cuvier
in the
Biographie universelle
, and by
A. P. de Candolle
in
Decade philosophique
- DeCandolle, A.P. (1799).
"XVII. Biographical memoirs of M. de Saussure"
.
Philosophical Magazine
. Series 1.
4
(13): 96?102.
doi
:
10.1080/14786449908677038
.
- articles by
E. Naville
in the
Bibliotheque universelle
(March, April, May 1883)
- chaps. v.-viii. of
Ch. Durier
's
Le Mont-Blanc
(Paris, various editions between 1877 and 1897).
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
public domain
:
Coolidge, William Augustus Brevoort
(1911). "
Saussure, Horace Benedict de
". In
Chisholm, Hugh
(ed.).
Encyclopædia Britannica
. Vol. 24 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 238.
- Rene Sigrist,
Le capteur solaire de Horace-Benedict de Saussure. Genese d'une science empirique
. Geneva, Passe-Present / Jullien, 1993.
- Albert V. Carozzi & Gerda Bouvier,
The scientific library of Horace-Benedict de Saussure (1797): annotated catalog of an 18th-century bibliographic and historic treasure
, Geneva, 1994 (
Memoires de la SPHN
, t. 46).
- Rene Sigrist (ed.),
H.-B. de Saussure (1740?1799): un regard sur la terre
. Geneva, Georg, 2001.
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