User:Nick Moyes/sandbox/Vallot



.... spending 3 nights camped on the summit of Mont Blanc in 1887, Joseph Vallot 's party returned to a hero's welcome, and was greeted with flowers and a brass band by mayor and  the inhabitants of Chamonix.

...in 1887, after spending 3 nights camped on the summit of Mont Blanc in 1887, Joseph Vallot constructed a permanent observatory and mountain refuge that are still both in use today.



Joseph Vallot (1854-1925) was a French scientist, astronomer, geographer, cartographer and alpinist. He is known mainly for his work in establishing a high altitude observatory below the summit of Mont Blanc in the Alps. He was a recipient of the Legion of Honour, and the Vallot Hut on Mont Blanc is named after him (or did he actually construct the original one- CHECK).

Personal life
Vallot was born in Lodève on 16 February 1854, and educated at Lycée Charlemagne in Paris.

He was married to Gabrielle Peron, and together they lived and worked in Chamonix on high altitude research and studied solar radiation during eclipses. They were both active mountaineers and members of the Club Alpin Français.

They had three children: two sons, André and René, and a daughter, Madelaine, who became the wife of painter Paul-Franz Namur.

Main work
Vallot's scientific interests initially lay in the field of botany, which took him first to the Pyrenees, and then to Chamonix, where he remained for much of his career. In 1875 he joined the Société botanique de France, eventually becoming its secretary and later, vice-president.

Mont Blanc Observatory
Joseph Vallot's most notable contribution to science was as founder and director of the Mont Blanc Observatory. It played an important part in scientific research on the mountain. It was constructed in 1890 at an altitude of 4358 m on the Rochers des Bosses, although it was subsequently relocated to a more suitable location in 1898, some eight metres lower down the mountain. The observatory was used both by Vallot and by invited scientists for over 30 years. The results were published in seven volumes of Annales de l'Observatoire du Mont Blanc, between 1893 and 1917, and in the Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences. These studies covered topics ranging from astronomy, geology, glaciology, cartography and meteorology, to botany, physiology and medicine.

In one pioneering experiment carried out in 1913, Vallot used squirrels to demonstrate that decreasing physical performance occurred with increasing altitude.

Honours and awards
Vallot was a corresponding member of the Bureau des Longitudes

He was a recipient of the Legion of Honour. (got it in 1896 according to FRwiki - CN)

He was made honorary president of the French Alpine Club

Recipient of the following honours: Chevalier de l'Ordre des Saints Maurice et Lazare; Officer of the Order of the Medjidie; Officer of the Order of Saint-Charles of Monaco; Other awards included: Grand prix des sciences physiques; prix wilde de Academie des Sciences and gold medal from the Société d'Encouragement.

Also two grand prix and two gold medals at the Exposition Universelle (1900)

PubMed ref

Death
When his health deteriorated, Vallot left Chamonix and moved to Nice, where he eventually died in 11 April 1925. He is interred at Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

Publications
Vallot's Main works: Annales de l'Observatoire du Mont Blanc; plus a large number of memoirs on physics, meteorology, geology, topography, alpinism, cave exploration, physiology, botany, photography and light therapy.

Categories
Category:Knights of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Category:French glaciologists Category:French meteorologists Category:French speleologists Category:Patrons of the arts Category:1854 births Category:1925 deaths

Extras
Environs de Chamonix - carte 20000eme - 1907.JPEG



French Who's Who ref
 * Excellent and Very Detailed account and images in Review Illustree 15 July 1905
 * http://creamontblanc.org/en/our-story
 * https://www.historytoday.com/rhys-griffiths/joseph-vallots-chinese-salon
 * http://www.lesia.obspm.fr/perso/jean-marie-malherbe/cours/Janssen-Mont-Blanc.pdf
 * http://www.lesia.obspm.fr/perso/jean-marie-malherbe/Montagne/Obs_MtBlanc/Janssen.htm
 * Extracted https://archive.org/stream/quitesvousannua00unkngoog#page/n762/mode/2up French "Who's Who entry on Vallot
 * Extracted https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11252700
 * https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k9678510s/f5.image.texteImage Senegal flora (same Vallot??)
 * High altitude laboratories
 * limited value
 * Some of J and G Vallot's publications
 * Henri Vallot obit died 1922 -relationship??
 * French obituary. Snippet view in Revue générale des sciences pures et appliquées, Volume 36. page 257
 * [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=mxe2veecPpAC&q=%22joseph+vallot%22+savant&dq=%22joseph+vallot%22+savant&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj_hr-RztvgAhUhTBUIHbrGAIsQ6AEILTAA snippet view of account of Vallot in La montagne & alpinisme, Volume 94, Issues 191-194 p.14
 * philanthropist, astronomer and sun spots
 * Leaving Cham observatory to nation in his will
 * Info on family background, wealth and botany studies in Senegal
 * Snippet view of account of observatory
 * Meterological Magazine 1925 obit. Confirms death date in Nice; ascended Mont Blanc 35 times. Only snippet view
 * Les glaciers du Mont-Blanc - six complex mentions in French - looks potentially useful
 * Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques - brief entry, with signature
 * http://worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n84166113/
 * Henri & Joseph Vallot's Chamonix map
 * Newly discovered image of him https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b84501261/f1.item
 * Album Mariani entry Vol 11 1908 https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k2059911/f257.item
 * Modern History of Observatory since 1984 for altitude research
 * Further indication of significance of his 3-night stay
 * Henri Vallot (1853-1922) et la commission detopographie du Club alpin français
 * The Elusive Placelessness of the Mont-Blanc Observatory (1893–1909): The Social Underpinnings of High-Altitude Observation The Elusive Placelessness of the Mont-Blanc Observatory (1893–1909): The Social Underpinnings of High-Altitude Observation
 * Exploration des moulins de la Mer de Glace 1989. (mentions working with his father, Emile)
 * LES DERNIERS TRAVAUX DE L'OBSERVATOIRE DU MONT-BLANC

Jannsen's summit observatory
 * Jannsen's Mont Blanc Observatory
 * Jannsen's article on his observatory
 * Detailed history, plus mention of Vallot incl firewood.)
 * Part 1
 * Part 2
 * Part 3
 * Part 4
 * Part 5
 * Final part