Jean Vincent (meteorologist) – Wikipedia
Jean-Joseph dit Jean Vincent , born in Saint-Josse-Ten-Noode the and died in Forest the , is a Belgian scientist and meteorologist, who was the first director of the Belgian Royal Meteorological Institute, when it was created in 1913.
Born in Saint-Josse-Ten-Noode Jean-Joseph Vincent is the son of Jean-Barthélémy Vincent (1803-1884), a clever and renowned typographer [ first ] , he is the youngest of a Brussels family of twelve children.
He made his humanities at the Saint-Michel college in Brussels (Jesuit) and finished his studies with the “graduated in letters” diploma.
The , he entered the administration of the Belgian State Railway Administration, where he was to stay for five years.
Pushed by the desire to devote himself to the study of weather phenomena, he obtained from Jean-Charles Houzeau of Lehaie, director of the Royal Observatory of Brussels since 1876, to come and make observations at this establishment.
The , he resign to the railways. By royal decree of of the same year, he was admitted to the Royal Observatory of Belgium as a temporary assistant assistant; THE of the following year, he became assistant meteorologist and meteorologist the .
From 1886 to 1890, he lived with all his family the Nouvel Observatoire built on the set of Uccle. THE , he is appointed scientific director of the meteorological service of this establishment, succeeding in Lancaster; Finally, following the administrative reshuffle which took place at that time and the separation of meteorological services and astronomical services, it is appointed, by order of the , Director of the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium, a position which he will keep until the date of his retirement, the .
The period during which he was called upon to lead the Meteorological Institute was noted in particular by the development which he gave to the research carried out in the upper atmosphere by means of balloons, research conducted systematically, on fixed dates, by virtue of a International Agreement, and to which the First World War was to end.
It is also necessary to recall, to the assets of the Meteorological Institute, during this period, the improvements made to the Daily bulletin , as well as the importance of Phone book .
In the same vein, it should be noted the active part he took at the foundation of the review Sky and earth , and, in 1894, to that of Belgian company of astronomy, meteorology and physics of the globe , on the initiative of Fernand Jacobs.
Son Meteorology Treaty , published in 1914, is undoubtedly his most striking meteorological work.
Apart from this work, somehow professional, its tireless activity has also manifested itself in other directions. This is how he had, in 1898, published a work entitled Our birds , which was very successful in Belgium.
He will always put tireless ardor in spending himself in the most diverse directions: science courses at the new university, conference at “popular universities”, botanical or geological walks with various popularization groups, public mineralogy and meteorology courses at Center for high studies, etc.
He also devoted himself for many years to biblical studies, which he facilitates knowledge of the Hebrew language and has meticulously studied the way in which the painters represented the clouds, discovering with enthusiasm the Belgian painter Gaston Geleyn.
From his marriage to Pauline Sturbois, he will have five children, including Auguste Vincent (1879-1962), doctor of philosophy and letters, toponymist, anthroponymist and bibliophile, who will be chief conservative of the Royal Library of Belgium and Édouard Vincent ( 1882-1975), doctor of science, chemist and scientific journalist, who will be editor-in-chief of the journal Chemistry and industry , emanation of the Maison de la Chimie and the Industrial Chemistry Society.
- Instructions for the observation of clouds (1896)
- Our birds (1898)
- Transformation of a cloud (1899)
- Some considerations on lunar volcanoes (1901)
- Overview of the history of meteorology in Belgium (1902)
- A new orientation in the forecast of time (1902)
- Meteorology judged by an astronomer (1903)
- Variations in time and their forecast (1905)
- Cloud Atlas (1907)
- New climate temperature research (1907)
- The climbs of balloons in beautiful Gique (1907)
- Meteorological service storm ads (1912)
- Air polls in the meteorological service (1912)
- Meteorology Treaty (1914)
- A new time forecasting system (1924)
- On the theory of cyclones and high pressure (1926)
- On the origin and the constitution of cyclones (1928)
- (in collaboration with the author, Maurice Rassenfosse) An exceptional painter, Gaston Geleyn (Preface by Leo Van Puyvelde, tribute by Jean Vincent) (1933)
Sources
- Édouard Vincent, Meteorologist Jean Vincent (1851-1932) , article published in Belgian expansion , n° 12,
- L. Dufour, Notice Jean-Joseph Vincent , in National Biography of Belgium , Tome 32 (Supplement), 1964, p. 724-729
- L. Dufour, Overview of Jean Vincent’s scientific work , In Belgian Royal Meteorological Institute, Miscellannées , fasc. XXI, 1947, WL-14 (this article contains a bibliography of the work of J. Vincent)
Notes and references
- Responsible for academic editions at the Marcel Haygs printing house in Brussels, he is the author of a Essay on the history of printing in Belgium, from the 15th to the end of the 18th century , Imp. J. Delfosse, 1867.
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