Antoine-Jean-Marie Thévenard

Antoine-Jean-Marie Thevenard, portrait by Louis Hierle

Antoine-Jean-Marie Thevenard (born December 7, 1733 in Saint-Malo , † February 9, 1815 in Paris ) was a French naval officer and politician. He ended his career as a vice admiral.

Life

As the son of a captain of the East India Company, he started at the age of twelve on a ship of the company that his father commanded. It was the time of the Austrian War of Succession and he took part in three fights in the first few years. He stayed with the company for a few years, learned the trade and bought the gallon.

In 1767, after serving in the Royal Navy and as a private individual, he will return to the service of society as captain.

Seven Years War

The first lieutenant served in 1754 in the squadron of the Comte du Chaffault, which devastated the English settlements on the coast of Newfoundland. He is the first officer of the privateer François Thurot on his ship, the Marshal of Belle Isle, and takes part in his expedition to Ireland in 1759.

After this expedition he devoted himself to the construction of four frigates and a flute in Saint-Malo, for which he himself drafted the plans, probably in collaboration with the engineer Groignard. His frigates are considered a great success. He will also plan and direct the construction of the French Navy's first two gunboats.

Land service

After the Peace of Paris , he served as captain of the East India Company from 1764 to 1769, then captain of the port, and finally returned to the Royal Navy, where he was promoted to the frigate's first captain in 1770 and then to captain in 1773.

His health has been poor - he likely suffered from a tropical disease, perhaps malaria, which is very common among seafarers who have sailed in the West Indies or the Indian Ocean - he is practically no longer on land for the rest of his life. He then commanded the Navy in Lorient in 1779, but did not take part in the American War of Independence. In 1784, however, he became the commandant of a squadron (former rear admiral).

Minister for Navy and Colonies

He became Minister of the Navy of Louis XVI in May 1791 . But it was a time of great disorganization and he resigned in September 1791. His only concrete achievement was the list of naval officers in application of the reorganization law of the Legislative Assembly following the dissolution of the King's Marine Corps. This of Thévenard during his tenure of Louis XVI. However, the signed list is only published by his successor, Antoine François Bertrand de Molleville. On January 1, 1792, three admirals, nine vice-admirals and 18 con-admirals were set up. In mid-1792 there will be only five in office. Only with the Admirals Estaing, who will soon be arrested. Thevenard will be the only Vice Admiral left in office and only three admirers. Everyone else will either have emigrated or at least resigned.

The oldest Vice Admiral in the Republic and the Imperial Navy

At the beginning of 1793, Thévenard was in command of the port of Brest, but was stopped later that year. However, he was acquitted and released by the Revolutionary Court. He was arrested again in early 1794 and released after the 9th Thermidor.

From that moment on, Thévenard, known as “ancestor”, will be the eldest of the vice admirals at the head of the navy. He then commanded the port of Rochefort in 1796, then provisional arm in command at Toulon to replace Vence in 1798. Seen as a director, officers and sailors, he became the Lorient Maritime Prefect, establishing an institution. The empire includes him: Legion of Honor, Earl of Empire, member of the Conservative Senate when he retired in 1810.

King Louis XVIII made him a member of the Chamber of Peers in 1814. From 1778 he was a corresponding member of the Académie des sciences .

Web links

Commons : Antoine-Jean-Marie Thevenard  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ^ List of former members since 1666: Letter T. Académie des sciences, accessed on March 7, 2020 (French).