Jean-Baptiste Benoît Eyriès facts for kids

Jean-Baptiste Benoît Eyriès (born June 24, 1767 – died June 13, 1846) was a French geographer, writer, and translator. He is best known for translating German ghost stories into a book called Fantasmagoriana. This book was published anonymously in 1812. It later inspired Mary Shelley to write Frankenstein and John William Polidori to write The Vampyre.

Eyriès was also a founding member of the Société de Géographie, which is a famous geography society. He was part of other important groups like the Société Asiatique and the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres. He even received the Legion of Honour, a high award in France. A mountain in New Guinea and a sandbank in Australia were named after him. There is also a street named after him in Le Havre, France.

A Life of Travel and Learning

Jean-Baptiste Benoît Eyriès was born in Marseille, France, on June 24, 1767. His father was a naval officer. In 1772, his family moved to Le Havre. Eyriès went to study at the College of Juilly.

Exploring the World

As a young man, Eyriès began to travel. He visited England, Germany, Sweden, and Denmark. He wanted to learn their languages. He also studied botany (the study of plants) and mineralogy (the study of minerals). These travels made him love geography and exploring new places.

After his travels, he returned to Le Havre. He worked in trade and helped manage a natural history museum. In 1794, he went to Paris to help his father, who had been arrested. The next year, Eyriès moved to Paris permanently. He wanted to focus on his studies. He attended lectures by famous scientists like Antoine Laurent de Jussieu and Georges Cuvier. He also started collecting old travel books.

A Gift for Languages and Translation

In 1804, Napoleon sent Eyriès on a mission to Germany. He was chosen because he knew the country and its language very well. Eyriès used this chance to add more books to his collection. He was even offered a high government job, but he turned it down. He wanted to stay independent and focus on geography and botany.

Eyriès could speak nine languages! This skill allowed him to translate many articles and books into French. Most of his translations were about travel and geography. But he also translated some fiction. One of his most famous translations was Fantasmagoriana. This book was a collection of German ghost stories. He published it anonymously in 1812.

From 1812 until his death, Eyriès also wrote many articles for a large encyclopedia called Biographie Universelle. His excellent translation skills and scientific knowledge earned him many friends. He was admired by famous scientists like Alexander von Humboldt. In 1819, he joined Conrad Malte-Brun to continue publishing a journal. This journal, called Nouvelles Annales des Voyages, was about earth sciences.

Honors and Recognition

In 1821, Eyriès became one of the founding members of the Société de Géographie. This was the world's first geographical society. He was very active in the society until he died. He was even named an honorary president. This title was given to other great thinkers like Pierre-Simon Laplace and Georges Cuvier.

The explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville named two places after Eyriès. This happened during his voyage on the ship Astrolabe (1826–1829). One was Banc Eyriès, a sandbank near French Island in Australia. The other was Mont Eyriès, a mountain near Yos Sudarso Bay in New Guinea.

Eyriès received many honors later in his life. He joined the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres in 1839. He became a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1840. In 1841, he was made a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Finally, in 1844, he was awarded the Legion of Honour.

Later Years and Legacy

In 1844, Eyriès had a stroke. This made it impossible for him to work anymore. He passed away on June 13, 1846, at his brother's house near Le Havre. He was buried in the cemetery of Graville Priory.

Eyriès left behind a huge library of about 20,000 books. He had collected them throughout his life. These books showed his deep interest in rare travel and geography works. His collection included many old maps from Germany and Scandinavia. Some of these maps are not even found in France's national library. Many of his books and writings are now kept in the municipal library of Le Havre.

People who knew Eyriès remembered him for his great knowledge and amazing memory. He was also known for being humble. The writer Pierre Larousse once described him: "Many people still remember seeing a little old man in old-fashioned clothes, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and reading along the waterfront: that was Eyriès, who worked to fill his vast memory and his rich library at the same time."

Images for kids

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  The Banc Eyriès sandbank, south of French Island in Australia.

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  The Mont Eyriès mountain, east of Yos Sudarso Bay in New Guinea.

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  Graville Priory in Le Havre, where Eyriès was buried in 1846.