Albert Demangeon facts for kids

Albert Demangeon (born June 13, 1872 – died July 25, 1940) was an important French geographer. He taught social geography at the famous Sorbonne University in Paris for many years.

He was a great teacher and wrote many books. In the 1930s, he was a top expert in human geography in France. He was also one of the first to use surveys to gather information about people and their lives.

Life of Albert Demangeon

Paul Vidal de La Blache (1845–1918), Demangeon's teacher

Albert Demangeon was born on June 13, 1872, in Cormeilles, Eure, France. His family did not have much money. But Albert was a brilliant student.

In 1892, he was accepted into the École Normale Supérieure. This was a very selective school for future teachers and researchers. There, he became very interested in geography. He was especially inspired by his teacher, Paul Vidal de La Blache.

Albert graduated in geography in 1895. He then started working as a secondary school teacher. Later, he helped prepare students for a special teaching exam called the Agrégation.

In 1905, Demangeon wrote his main university paper, called a thesis. It was about the Picardy region of France. This paper was seen as a perfect example of how to study a region.

After this, he became a teacher at the University of Lille. He also worked with other geographers on a geography dictionary in 1907.

From 1911, he taught in Paris at the Sorbonne. During World War I (1914–1918), Demangeon worked for the army's geography department. He wrote important notes for the army leaders. Near the end of the war, he helped a committee plan for peace. This group helped decide France's borders after the war.

After the war, Demangeon returned to the Sorbonne. From 1925 to 1940, he was a professor of economic geography. This field studies how geography affects money and business.

He also helped run important geography magazines. He was known as a great university teacher. He also helped create well-known textbooks for high schools.

In the mid-1930s, he taught at a business school called HEC Paris. One of his students was a famous economist, Albert O. Hirschman. He said Demangeon gave "brilliant lectures." He used big, colorful maps to show how trade and business worked between different places.

Demangeon also helped solve social problems. He acted as a mediator during the time of the Popular Front government (1936–1938).

Albert Demangeon's daughter, Suzanne, married another geographer. His name was Aimé Vincent Perpillou. He also became a well-known economic geographer. Albert Demangeon passed away on July 25, 1940, in Paris, France.

Albert Demangeon's Work

Demangeon wrote many books and articles. Before World War I, he focused on physical geography. This is the study of natural features like mountains and rivers. Later, he wrote about bigger topics. These included several books for the Géographie Universelle series. This series was led by Paul Vidal de La Blache and Lucien Gallois.

At the Sorbonne, he changed his focus to human geography. This field studies how people interact with their environment. He did not write a single book about human geography in general. But his ideas were collected and published after his death. This book was called Problems of Human Geography (1942). It covered many topics in human geography.

Demangeon was interested in how people and nature affect each other. He also studied history. He believed geography should be its own subject. In 1906, he wrote that to understand geography, we need to study how things changed over time.

Later, he shared three main ideas for studying human geography:

• We should avoid determinism. This means that human actions are not just caused by nature. People always make choices.
• We should study a specific area or region. Understanding and describing regions is a main goal of geography.
• We must look at the past, not just the present. Knowing how things developed helps us understand why they are the way they are today.

Lucien Febvre (1878–1956) co-authored The Rhine, Problems of History and Economy (1935)

Demangeon's 1905 study of Picardy included a lot of history. This showed his teacher's idea that humans change the Earth. Also in 1905, he wrote a helpful guide for geographers to use the National Archives. These archives hold old documents.

He worked with historians. He co-wrote a book called The Rhine, Problems of History and Economy (1935) with Lucien Febvre. He also studied current events. These included colonialism, globalization, the Great Depression, and Germany's goals.

His 1920 book, Le déclin de l'Europe (The Decline of Europe), was published in the US. It was called America and the Race for World Domination. In this book, he argued that Europe was weak after the war. It had a lot of debt, less farming and industry, and fewer births. Meanwhile, the US and Japan had grown their industries. They replaced Europe's exports and were owed a lot of money.

Demangeon studied cities, but he was more interested in the countryside. He also focused on economics. He always studied how farmhouses were different in different places. In 1937, he gave a famous presentation about rural houses.

His two-volume work, France Économique et Humaine, was published after he died. It came out in 1944 and 1948. This work looked at rural life and the economy in France. It covered roads, railways, canals, towns, and industries. It also included Paris. The books deeply explored farming, towns, and industry in each region. They also had a historical feel, showing how land use and industries changed over time.

Demangeon used clear language. He connected facts to ask new questions. He started using questionnaires to study patterns as early as 1909. In the 1930s, he used surveys for a 1939 study. This study looked at foreign workers in French agriculture. The surveys were supported by the Rockefeller Institute. They gathered information about rural homes, farm organization, and foreign farm labor.

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See also

In Spanish: Albert Demangeon para niños