Jean Joseph Tranchot

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Excerpt from a tranchot map with the mayorships of Kuckum , Wanlo , Neukirchen and Immerath

Jean Joseph Tranchot (born January 2, 1752 in Kœur-la-Petite , Lorraine , † April 30, 1815 in Linas ) was a French geographer . His most important work was the topographical survey of the Rhineland ( Tranchot map ).

Live and work

Jean Joseph Tranchot was born the son of the carpenter Remigius Tranchot and his wife Maria Maury on January 2, 1752 in Kœur-la-Petite.

Since 1774 Tranchot gained his first experience with triangulation in Corsica on behalf of the French crown. With Pierre Méchain , he acquired further knowledge of trigonometry and astronomy , which helped him map Corsica, Sardinia and the coastal areas of Tuscany . For this he was given special recognition by the Academy of Sciences in 1791 . Between 1792 and 1799 he took part in Méchains triangulations between Dunkirk , Paris and Barcelona , where both worked on the part of the route south of Paris and learned to appreciate each other.

In 1794 Tranchot was appointed to the scientific staff of the Dépôt de la Guerre . With the rank of Colonel , the French government under Napoléon Bonaparte promoted him to head of the "Bureau topographique de la carte des quatre Départements réunis de la rive gauche du Rhin" (Topographical Department for the mapping of the four united departments on the left bank of the Rhine ), which, like similar departments also, was established specifically for mapping potential theaters of war . The work lasted from 1801 to 1814.

Tranchot and his staff used and developed modernizations for almost all areas of their project. They improved the measuring instruments and methods and invented their own, meaningful design guidelines where they were missing. Partly secretly and in contrast to their client, they put the civil usability of map information at the center of their work. The result of these enormous efforts was a map series of previously unknown quality, which is still useful to this day.

Jean Joseph Tranchot died of a stroke on April 30, 1815 in Linas (near Paris ) .

The topographical survey of the Rhineland was continued from 1815 to 1828 by Karl von Müffling on behalf of Prussia .

literature

  • Heinz Monz (eds.) And Guido Groß (author): Tranchot, Jean Joseph , In: "Trier Biographical Lexicon" , WVT Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier 2000, ISBN 3-88476-400-4 , p. 471.

Web links

Commons : Tranchot Cards  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Saarland biographies: Jean-Joseph Tranchot
  2. ↑ Bernhard Willems: Colonel Tranchot and the Tranchot stone on the High Fens. Eupen 1955, p. 3.
  3. ^ Marie-Luise Carl: The background to the map of the Rhineland by Tranchot and von Müffling in the mirror of an inscription. 2004 ( online ).
  4. ↑ Antoine M. Augoyat: Notice sur M. Maissiat, Chef d'Escadron au Corps royal des ingénieurs-géographes militaires, suivie de notices sur la Carte des ex-quatre Départemens réunis de la rive gauche du Rhein et sur M. Tranchot, Colonel au Coprs royal des Ingéniers-géogr. Militaries. Paris 1822, p. 42 ( online ).
personal data
SURNAME Tranchot, Jean Joseph
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French geographer
DATE OF BIRTH January 2, 1752
PLACE OF BIRTH Kœur-la-Petite
DATE OF DEATH April 30, 1815
Place of death Linas