Nicolas Desmarest

Nicolas Desmarest
Nicolas Desmarest

Born 16 September 1725
Soulaines-Dhuys
Died 20 September 1815
Paris
Nationality French
Fields geology

Nicolas Desmarest (16 September 1725 – 20 September 1815) was a French geologist.

Desmarest was born at Soulaines, in the department of Aube. Of humble parentage, he was educated at the college of the Oratorians of Troyes and Paris. Taking full advantage of the instruction he received, he was able to support himself by teaching, and to continue his studies independently. Buffon's Theory of the Earth interested him, and in 1753 he successfully competed for a prize by writing an essay on the ancient connection between England and France. This attracted much attention, and ultimately led to his being employed in studying and reporting on manufactures in different countries, and in 1788 to his appointment as inspector-general of the manufactures of France.

He utilized his journeys, travelling on foot, so as to add to his knowledge of the Earth's structure. In 1763 he made observations in Auvergne, recognizing that the prismatic basalts were old lava streams, comparing them with the columns of the Giant's Causeway in Ireland, and referring them to the operations of extinct volcanoes. It was not, however, until 1774 that he published an essay on the subject, accompanied by a geological map, having meanwhile on several occasions revisited the district. He then pointed out the succession of volcanic outbursts and the changes the rocks had undergone through weathering and erosion. As remarked by Sir Archibald Geikie, the doctrine of the origin of valleys by the erosive action of the streams which flow through them was first clearly taught by Desmarest.

An enlarged and improved edition of his map of the volcanic region of Auvergne was published after his death, in 1823, by his son Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest (1784-1838), who was distinguished as a zoologist, and author of memoirs on recent and fossil crustaceans. He died in Paris.

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  • Nicolas Desmarest — Nicolas Desmarest, né en 1725 à Soulaines et mort à Paris le 28 septembre 1815, est un géographe français. De parents peu riches, Desmarest fit ses études chez les Oratoriens de Troyes, et réussit surtout dans les mathématiques et la… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Nicolas Desmarest — (* 16. September 1725 in Soulaines; † 28. September 1815 in Paris) war ein französischer Geologe. Sein Sohn war der Zoologe Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest. In den 1760er Jahren wies er den vulkanischen Ursprung des Basalts nach (siehe auch …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Desmarest — is the name of more than one French scientist: Nicolas Desmarest (1725 1815), and his son, Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest (1784 1838) his son, Eugène Anselme Sébastien Léon Desmarest (1816 1889) Desmarest is also the name of: Henri Desmarest (or… …   Wikipedia

  • Desmarest — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest (1784–1838), französischer Zoologe Eugène Desmarest (1816–1889), französischer Insektenkundler Henry Desmarest auch: Desmarets (1661–1741), französischer Komponist Nicolas… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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  • Nicolas Goupillet — also Coupillet or Goupillier (Senlis, c. 1650 Paris, c. 1713) was a French Baroque composer albeit a composer who may not have himself composed all of his works.[1] In 1683 the then fifty year old Sun King Louis XIV commanded that a competition… …   Wikipedia

  • Desmarest, Nicolas — ▪ French geologist born Sept. 16, 1725, Soulaines, France died Sept. 28, 1815, Paris       French geologist whose discovery of the volcanic origin of basalt disproved the Neptunist theory that all rocks were formed by sedimentation from primeval… …   Universalium

  • Desmarest , Nicolas — (1725–1815) French geologist Desmarest was the son of a school teacher from Soulaines Dhuys in France. He first came to notice when he won a prize essay set by the Amiens Academy in 1751 on whether England and France had ever been joined together …   Scientists

  • Anselme Gaetan Desmarest — Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest (* 6. März 1784 in Paris; † 4. Juni 1838 in Maisons Alfort) war ein französischer Zoologe und Schriftsteller. Er war der Sohn des berühmten Geologen Nicolas …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Anselme Gaetan Desmarest — Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest Pour les articles homonymes, voir Desmarest. Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest. Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest ( …   Wikipédia en Français

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