MONNET, ANTOINE-GRIMOALD

(b. Champeix, Puy-de-Dôme, France, 1734; d. Paris, France, 23 May 1817)

chemistry, mineralogy.

Little is known about Monnet’s early life and, education. He attended the chemistry lectures of, G,-F. Rouelle at the Jardin du Roi in Paris (ca. 1754) and was for a time a pharmacist’s assistant in Nantes. By 1767 papers on the analysis of mineral springs, had attracted the attention of some scientists and of, Malesherbes, who became Monnet’s patron; and, Monnet was able to secure a post with the Bureau du, Commerce, then under the direction of Daniel, Trudaine. Beginning in 1772, he also worked for Henri, Bertin, minister and secretary of state in charge of, mining; in 1776 he was named France’s first inspecteur, general des mines et miníres du royaume. Although, his title and duties varied somewhat in later years, he survived many changes in the organization of the, government corps of mining engineers and was, finally retired in 1802.

His employment took Monnet to Alsace and the, German states to study mining and metallurgy, and, after 1772 his principal duty was to inspect and to, suggest improvements in the French mining industry. Many of his published works were the result of these, activities, and his post as mineralogist traveling at, government expense was partly responsible for his, appointment, in 1777, to direct the national geological, survey earlier begun by Guettard and Lavoisier.

Monnet incorporated into his writings some of, the findings of contemporary German and Swedish, scientists, often before their treatises were available, in French. Although French scientists considered his, works useful their judgments varied when they tried, to assess Monnet’s talents. Early in his career, he was, pronounced a chemist of genuine ability by Macquer; but despite influential patronage, he failed in his, attempts to become a member of the Acad́mie, Royale des Sciences. (He belonged to learned societies, in Clermont-Ferrand, Rouen, Stockholm, and Turin.) After 1790 his persistent and violent adherence to, the phlogiston theory and his personal eccentricities, isolated him increasingly from the scientific community.

Monnet’s first wife, by whom he had a son and, a daughter, died in 1779. He married the writer, Mariette Moreau in 1781. Monnet’s brother was a, mineralogist active in the Socít́ Litt́raire de, Clermont-Ferrand.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

I. Original Works. Monnet’s publications are Trait́ des eaux mińrales (Paris, 1768); Trait́ de la vitriolisation & de l’alunation (Amsterdam, 1769); Exposition des mines, … a laquelle on a joint … une dissertation pratique sur le, traitement des mines de cuivre, traduite de l’allemand, de, M. Cancrinus (London, 1772)—the major part of this work, is a free rendering of A. F. Cronstedt, Försök til mineralogie (Stockholm, 1758), but is based on a German trans. of Cronstedt: Trait́ de l’exploitation des mines (Paris, 1773), based on an unidentified work published by the, Council of Mines of Freiberg, Saxony; Dissertation sur, l’arsenic, qui a remport́ le prix propoś par l’Acad́mie, Royale [de Berlin] pour l’anńe 1773 (Berlin, 1774); Trait́ de la dissolution des ḿtaux (Paris, 1775); Nouveau syst́me, de mińralogie (Bouillon, 1779); Ḿmoire historique etpolitique sur les mines de France (Paris, 1790); and D́monstration tie la fausset́ des principes des nouveaux chymistes (Paris, 1798).

Monnet published articles in the Journal de ḿdecine, chirurgie, pharmacie, &c.; Observations sur la physique, sur, l’histoire naturelle et sur les arts; Journal des mines; Ḿlanges de philosophie et de math́matiques de la Socít́ royale de Turin pour les anńes 1766–1769 (Miscellanea, Taurinensia, vol. IV); and Ḿmoires de l’Acad́mie royale, des sciences (Turin). He contributed maps to and was, author of the text of Atlas et description mińralogiques de, la France, entrepris par ordre du roi … premíre partie (Paris, 1780); and 2nd ed., Collection complete de toutes, les parties de l’atlas mińralogique de la France, qui ont èt́ faites jusqu’aujourd’hui ([Paris, ca. 1799]); for an analysis, see the Lavoisier bibliographies cited below. Monnet, was also translator of Ignaz von Born, Voyage mińralogique fait en Hongrie et en Transilvanie (Paris, 1780).

Approximately 20 vols. of papers are at the École des, Mines, Paris; many were written after Monnet’s retirement, and are of varying reliability, showing evidence of increasing paranoia. Extracts from MS 4672, a volume of inaccurate copies of letters, have been published in Nouvelle, revue ŕtrospective, 19 (1903), 289–298, 361–384; and 20 (1904), 1–24, 100–120, 169–192, 245–264, 445–446. Two, travel journals, MSS 4688 and 8286, respectively, have, been edited and published by Henry Mosnier, Voyage de, Monnet, inspecteur ǵńral des mines, dans la Haute-Loire et le Puy-de-D̂me, 1793- 1794 (Le Puy, 1875); and “Les, bains du Mont-Dore en 1786. Voyage en Auvergne de, Monnet,” in Ḿmoires de l’Acad́mie des sciences, belleslettres et arts de Clermont-Ferrand, 29 (1887), 71–174. Important papers and letters are at the Archives Nationals, Paris, F¹⁴1313–1314; Biblioth́que Centrale du, Muśum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, MS 283; Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, MSS fr. 11881, 12306; and, Bibliothèque Municipale de Clermont-Ferrand, MSS 1339, 1390, 1400. One letter has been published by R. Rappaport, “The Early Disputes Between Lavoisier and Monnet, 1777–1781,” in British Journal for the History of Science, 4 (1969), 233–244.

Letters by and about Monnet are in Torbern Bergman’s, Foreign Correspondence, G. Carlid and J. Nordström, eds., I (Stockholm, 1965).

II. Secondary Literature. There is an anonymous, eulogy of Monnet in Annales des mines, 2 (1817), 483–485. See also Louis Aguillon, “L’́cole des mines de Paris: notice historique,” in Annales des mines, 8th ser., 15 (1889), 433–686; Denis I. Duveen and Herbert S. Klickstein, A, Bibliography of the Works of Antoine Laurent Lavoisier 1743–1794 (London, 1954); Denis I. Duveen, Supplement, to a Bibliography of the Works of Antoine Laurent Lavoisier 1743–1794 (London, 1965); and R. Rappaport, “The, Geological Atlas of Guettard, Lavoisier, and Monnet: Conflicting Views of the Nature of Geology,” in Cecil, J. Sehneer, ed., Toward a History of Geology (Cambridge, Mass., 1969).

Rhoda Rappaport