François Mingaud

Historical figure of the sport of billiards François Mingaud
François Mingaud portrait from the Vienna Billiard Museum by Heinrich Weingartner
Born	January 4, 1771 ( Le Cailar , France )
Deceased	23 December 1847 (age 76) ( Rotterdam , Netherlands )
residence	Paris, Rotterdam
nationality	France
job	Carom player, inventor, before that officer in the French Army
Known for	Invention, the bitter orange (billiard cue) and div. Billard techniques and bumps

François Mingaud (also Mingot , Mengaud , Minguad or just M. Mingaud ; born January 4, 1 771 in Le Cailar , Nîmes , France , † December 23, 1847 in Rotterdam , Netherlands ) was a French carom player . He is considered to be the inventor of the bitter orange , the leather tip of the billiard cue .

Career

Because of open criticism of the Napoleonic army, Mingaud was sentenced to prison. After his release from the Bastille in 1807, he began his invention and the "twist" technique ( Effet to demonstrate the cue ball in Paris). In places, these performances caused extreme horror among the audience. The inexplicable behavior of the ball after hitting the object ball or the gang created the feeling in the audience that the ball was "possessed by the devil" and should therefore be confiscated. Mingaud is also credited with the discovery of the mass impact. The rear part of the cue is lifted vertically so that it hits the ball almost vertically.

Personal

Mingaud was born in 1771 in Le Cailar near Nîmes in the Gard department in France. Under Napoleon's rule , he enlisted in the army and served there with the rank of " Capitaine " (captain).

In 1807, after his release from Bastille prison , he toured France and Europe to demonstrate his “trick shot” skills.

In 1822 Mingaud settled in the Hoogstraat in Rotterdam and in 1825, at the age of 54, remarried.

billiards

Mingaud was sentenced to prison for openly criticizing Napoleon's army. In the Bastille he had access to a pool table and studied billiards. At that time the cues were still made of wood and it was impossible to give the balls a spin. A break in the tip of his cue gave Mingaud the idea to mend it with a piece of leather from his shoe. The forerunner of today's bitter orange was born. It is assumed that people tied leather around their cue before, but this has only been proven since Minguad. He was the first to perfect the spin and the corresponding playing technique.

Since 1790, the new practice of rounding the tip of the cue has reduced the risk of slipping during impact. Some publications attribute Mingaud not only to inventing the bitter orange, but also to rounding it off. Nevertheless, the "hit-or-miss issue" remained part of the game. Up until then, no fine adjustment was possible, and faulty joints “unavoidable where hardwood meets slippery ivory”. The use of spin (sometimes also called rotation or "English", especially in North America) was a still unknown form of playing art at the time.

Influence on the game

In 1807 Mingaud began to demonstrate his invention and playing techniques in the cafes of Paris. He developed a repertoire of 40 thrusts, including such as: grazing thrusts, side twist, reverse and trailing as well as the mass thrust. The regulars at the cafés were amazed at the ball control and manipulation. One had never seen anything like this before and could not imagine. Within a very short time, Mingaud's bitter orange became the norm and further improvements quickly followed. The further development of the game ran parallel to this. In 1823 the bitter orange was brought from Europe to the USA and presented to the public there. Her fame had already preceded her, and there were several domestic brands. Shortly after the introduction of the bitter oranges in France, which allowed massive manipulation by twist (spin), they became increasingly popular. Little by little, the point system of the "misses" or pockets that had been in effect until then was therefore abolished.

"How astonished were the billiard players and the billiard table manufacturers of Mingaud's day, by the results of his invention! ... When the independent amateurs of Paris saw the practical operation of Mingaud's discovery — when they saw the ordinary laws of motion apparently reversed in obedience to the whim of the person wielding the (then modern) cue — when they saw him, with a perfect mastery of his own ball, sometimes force it to describe a curve around a hat placed in the middle of the board — sometimes compel it to make angles diametrically opposed to the ordinary laws as hitherto expounded and believed — when they saw the same ball apparently possessing scarce enough force to arrive at a cushion, suddenly gather strength at the moment of impact, and fly off with increasing velocity. When they saw these things, we say, it seemed to them like magic, and it was lucky for Mingaud that the statutes against sorcery had been repealed before his day. "

“How amazed the billiards players and pool table manufacturers were by Mingaud's work by the result of his invention! ... When the independent amateurs of Paris saw the practical implementation of Mingaud's discovery - when they saw how the usual laws of movement seemed to be abolished and apparently obeyed him as he pleased - when they saw him, with his perfect control of his ball, like him sometimes forced him to make a curve around a hat that stood in the middle of the plate - sometimes to make an angle diametrically opposed to the usual laws, in complete contrast to the laws set out and assumed so far - when they saw the same ball that apparently had just enough strength to touch the gang and seemed to gather strength at the moment of impact and then flew away at increasing speed. When they saw these things, we say it seemed like a charm to them and it was Mingaud's good fortune that the anti-sorcery statute was repealed before his time. "

- Michael Phelan ("Father of American Billiards") (1859)

reputation

Mingaud's reputation grew rapidly and he was soon known as "The Great Master of the Game" . In 1893, John Roberts wrote in his book Roberts on Billiards :

Illustration of a man who plays with a cue , but the woman still with its forerunner ( mace ), a kind of club. From Michael Phelan's book The Game of Billiards (1859).

“A few years later (after 1807) he became known as the great master of the game. He could nurse a break, screw, and cause his ball to follow with the utmost nicety and certainty. "

“A few years later (after 1807) he was known as a great master of the game . He mastered the positional play, the spin (spin) and was able to guide the ball with the utmost delicacy and security. "

- John Roberts : Roberts on Billiards

“Mingaud quietly advanced, took up [the cue] and struck the white ball, which, after contact with the red, recoiled upon him. Affecting extreme horror, he dropped the cue, and summoned the waiter, to whom he explained that when he had pushed a ball forward it ran backwards. The spectators were incredulous, and, in reply to their entreaties, Mingaud attempted another stroke, but with the same result. The balls were seized and condemned as 'tormented by a devil', ... "

“Mingaud walked calmly, picked up (his cue) and pushed the white ball which, after hitting the red, bounced back on him. This caused extreme horror, he dropped his cue, called the waiter, to whom he explained that if he pushed the ball forward, it would run back again. The spectators were incredulous and, in response to their pleadings, Mingaud attempted another push, but with the same result. The balls were confiscated and condemned as "possessed by the devil" ... "

- John Roberts : Roberts on Billiards

Mace - club-like forerunner of the modern cue

Publications

Appreciation page from John Thurston's book The Noble Game of Billiards , 1831, 2nd edition, translation of Mingaud's French treatise Noble Jeu de Billard , 1827

In 1827, in Paris, Mingaud published his book entitled “ Noble Jeu de Billiard - Coups extraordinaires et surprenans. “( The noble game of billiards. Extraordinary and surprising shocks ) It contains 43 images on copper plates and 70 instructions for carrying out shots . A single one of these images on copper plates is now (as of July 2013) traded for € 12,000.

Around 1829/30 this book was translated into English and published by the English pool table manufacturer John Thurston . The English title is: The Noble Game of Billiards ; Extraordinary and surprising strokes which have excited the admiration of most of the Sovereigns of Europe.

Death and remembrance

He died in 1847, his grave is in the churchyard of Kralingen-Crooswijk , a suburb of Rotterdam.

In Spanish, "Mingo" is the slang term for the red ball in a collision. It was named after him in honor of Mingaud.

In the 1990s, Cees Sprangers began researching Mingaud's "lost mysteries". His results resulted in an essay which appeared in the book Billiard Encyclopedia published in 1994 by Victor Stein and Paul Rubino . He revealed many details of Mingaud's life, including his first name, concretized his personal history, and gave in large part information about his role in the invention of the bitter orange.

swell

• Roberts on Billiards by John Roberts (Senior), published in 1869
• Treasury of Trick Shots in Pool & Billiard by Robert Byrne, published in 1983
• Victor Stein, Paul Rubino: Billiard Encyclopedia . 2nd Edition. Blue Book Publications, 1996, ISBN 978-1-886768-06-2 (558 pages). Official homepage for the book ( Flash ; 227 kB)
• Cees Sprangers: Zoektocht naar François Mingaud - Belangrijke pioneer in de Biljartsport . 2019, ISBN 978-90-816595-6-7 (259 pages).

Web links

• Description of Mingaud's manuscript Noble jeu de billard - Coups extraordinaires et surprenans from 1827. ( French ) www.chamonal.com. Archived from the original on July 4, 2013. Retrieved July 5, 2013.
• 5 web references about Mingaud

Remarks

1. ↑ Further development of the bitter orange - Hénine Ainé (French cue manufacturer in Paris) was founded in 1830 and improved Mingaud's invention by creating the "screw tip" so that the replacement of the tip became a much easier matter.

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} Victor Stein, Rubino, Paul: The Billiard Encyclopedia: An Illustrated History of the Sport (2nd edition) . Blue Book Publications, June 1996, 1996, ISBN 1-886768-06-4 , p. 475.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} History of Snooker Games , Michael Stook. Citing Roberts on Billiards (1869), John Roberts, Sr.
3. ↑ ^{a b c d} Biljart totaal, Dec. 1997: History of Billiards - Profile of François Mingaud. Straipsniai.lt, archived from the original on May 29, 2014 ; accessed on July 29, 2017 (English).  
4. ^ ^{A b c} Clive Everton: The History of Snooker and Billiards , revised edition of the book The Story of Billiards and Snooker from 1979. Edition, Partridge Pr., Haywards Heath , UK 1986, ISBN 1-85225-013-5 , pp. 8-11.
5. ↑ Billiard game ( Memento from May 29, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) on Billard-Tische.net. Retrieved July 5, 2013.
6. ^ Inventions that changed sport on Inventorresource.co.uk. Retrieved July 5, 2013.
7. ↑ ^{a b c} Forgotten History - The story of François Mingaud on snookergames.co.uk.
8. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h} Alvin A. Johnson: Robert Lilley (ed.): Johnson's Universal Cyclopedia: A New Edition , Volume 1. AJ Johnson Co, New York 1893, OCLC 68137336 .
9. ↑ Rudolph Brasch: How did sports begin ?: A look at the origins of man at play . McKay, 1970, p. 50, OCLC 258011049 .
10. ^ Frank Grant Menke: The encyclopedia of sports , 3rd edition, Barnes, 1963, p. 191, OCLC 490548 .
11. ↑ ^{a b} Michael Ian Shamos: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Billiards . Lyons & Burford, New York City 1993, ISBN 1-55821-219-1 , pp. 44-45, 67, 142-143, 149, 249 and 307.
12. ^ ^{A b} Michael Phelan: The game of billiards , 11th. Edition, HW Collender, New York 1858, pp. 31-32, 44, OCLC 38536192 .
13. ^ "HB": Billiards . In: The Gentleman's magazine, Part 2 . F. Jefferies, London 1869, OCLC 145145879 , p. 227 ( limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed July 18, 2009]).
14. ^ The Guardian / The Observer, The 10: sports gear inventions by Tim Harris, Sunday 10 January 2010
15. ^ ^{A b} Victor Stein, Rubino, Paul: The Billiard Encyclopedia: An Illustrated History of the Sport (2nd ed.) . Blue Book Publications, June 1996, 1996, ISBN 1-886768-06-4 , pp. 91-92.
16. ↑ Illustration on Google e-Books
17. ↑ Description and offer to buy a copper tablet from Mingaud's book Noble Jeu de Billard from 1827. Chamonal.com, archived from the original on June 27, 2013 ; Retrieved July 8, 2013 (French).