Commission des Sciences et des Arts facts for kids
The Commission des Sciences et des Arts (which means Commission of the Sciences and Arts in French) was a special group of French scientists and artists. It was created on March 16, 1798. This group had 167 members, and almost all of them joined Napoleon Bonaparte when he went on his campaign to Egypt.
Their main job was to study and record everything about Egypt. They created a huge collection of books called the [Description de l'Égypte] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). This amazing work was published in 37 books between 1809 and around 1829.
More than half of the members were engineers and technical experts. This included 21 mathematicians, 3 astronomers, 17 civil engineers, and 13 naturalists and mining engineers. There were also geographers, gunpowder experts, architects, artists, and even printers who could work with Latin, Greek, and Arabic letters.
Napoleon organized this scientific team like an army. He divided them into five groups and gave each member a military rank and a specific military job, like helping with supplies or housing, in addition to their scientific work.
Who Were the Members?
The Commission des Sciences et des Arts had many talented people. Some members, like Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, Monge, and Vivant Denon, are still well-known today for their important contributions. However, many other members are not as famous now. Some of these experts later became part of another important group called the Institut d'Égypte.
The members came from many different fields of study and work. They included:
- Engineers of various types, such as those who built bridges and roads (Ponts et Chaussées), marine engineers, and geographical engineers who mapped areas.
- Scientists like chemists, mineralogists, geologists, botanists, and zoologists.
- Medical professionals, including doctors, surgeons, and pharmacists.
- Artists and creative people, such as painters, sculptors, writers, and musicographers.
- Specialists in languages, like orientalists and interpreters.
- People who worked with machines (mechanics) and printers.
- Astronomers who studied stars and planets.
This diverse group worked together to explore and document the ancient and natural wonders of Egypt during Napoleon's time there. Their work helped the world learn a lot about Egypt's history, culture, and environment.
