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Édouard-Alfred Martel

December 15, 2023

Édouard-Alfred Martel (1 July 1859, Pontoise, Val-d'Oise – 3 June 1938, Montbrison), the 'father of modern speleology',[1] was a world pioneer of cave exploration, study, and documentation. Martel explored thousands of caves in his native France and many other countries, popularised the pursuit of cave exploration, introduced the concept of speleology as a distinct area of scientific study, maintained an extensive archive, and in 1895 founded Société de Spéléologie,[2] the first organisation devoted to cave science in the world.

Édouard-Alfred Martel
Born(1859-07-01)1 July 1859
Pontoise
Died3 June 1938(1938-06-03) (aged 78)
Montbrison
Known forFather of modern speleology
AwardsLegion of Honour

Life and Exploration edit

No man has gone before us in these depths, no one knows where we go nor what we see, nothing so strangely beautiful was ever presented to us, and spontaneously we ask each other the same question: are we not dreaming?

— É.-A. Martel, "Les causses du Languedoc",(the Karsts of Languedoc) Conférences de l'exposition universelle internationale de 1889[3]

Édouard-Alfred Martel was born in Pontoise, Seine-et-Oise on 1 July 1859. Born into a family of lawyers, he studied at the Lycée Condorcet in Paris. Early on, he became passionate about geography and the natural sciences and in 1877 he won first prize in an open competition for geography. He was a great reader of the works of Jules Verne. In 1866, while holidaying with his parents, he visited the Caves of Gargas in the Pyrenees. Other trips allowed him to travel to Germany, Austria and Italy. In 1879, he visited Postojna Cave in Slovenia, an extensive cave system.

 
Birthplace of Édouard-Alfred Martel, 1 rue de la forêt Hardelot, Pontoise.

In 1886, after completing his military service, he earned a law degree and became a licensed attorney with the Commercial Court of the Seine. Martel devoted his leisure and holiday time to travels across France. From 1883, he conducted work on the karstic plateaus of the Causses, shaped by the gorges of the Tarn, Jonte, Dourbie and Lot.

In June 1888, he began his caving career in the Bramabiau gorge in Gard. He and several companions entered a rock cavity where a stream known as Bonheur sinks and reappears farther along the Bramabiau Gorge. That same June with the same team he explored the Dargilan Cave along the Jonte Gorge over a mile away. In 1889 he visited Padirac Cave, near Gramat. He climbed down the entrance chasm and reached an underground river at a depth of 100m. Martel and his cousin Gaupillat set off to explore with a canoe, discovering two kilometres of new passage. Martel later bought the Padirac Cave, and turned it into a show cave.

In July 1890 he married Aline de Launay, sister of Louis de Launay, a professor of geology and future member of the Academy of Sciences. Collaboration with Louis de Launay provided a scientific basis for some of Martel’s publications, including articles in the journal La Nature, which Martel and Launay were later editors. In 1894, he published The Abyss, a book in which he describes the wonders of the underworld he discovered and visited during the six seasons of exploration he undertook from 1888 to 1893. During this period, he visited and indexed more than 230 caves.

In 1895, he ventured further afield and organised an expedition to Ireland and England. He discovered the underground lake of Marble Arch in Northern Ireland. In Yorkshire he made the first complete descent, after a partial descent by Englishman John Birkbeck in 1842, into the pothole of Gaping Gill. He reached the Main Chamber, 170 feet lower than Birkbeck had ventured.[4] That same year, he founded the Speleological Society and started a periodic newsletter, Spelunca.

 
Drawing by Martel, depicting the first exploration of Marble Arch Caves in Ireland, 1895.

In 1896, he was invited by the Archduke Luis Salvator, a cousin of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, to visit their country. With his foreman and journeyman Louis Armand, he explored several caves on the island of Mallorca. In the Cave of Drach near Porto Cristo he discovered the largest underground lake known at the time.

Martel's explorations intensified around this time, prioritizing the exploration of the caves of Causses. He also explored the caves and caverns of the limestone regions of Savoie, Jura, Provence and the Pyrenees. He traveled throughout Europe, Belgium, Dalmatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, where he investigated the course of the Trebišnjica, considered as one of the longest underground rivers in the world. In 1899 he finally left professional life to devote himself to his scientific research. He served as editor of La Nature from 1905 to 1909 and was a member of the Société de géographie, of which he was elected president. In 1912, he spent three days exploring in Mammoth Cave, Kentucky where he undertook scientific work including barometric determinations of the elevations of the cave's different levels. Martel was active in cave exploration from 1888–1914, recording some 1,500 caves during this time.[5]

Edward Alfred Martel died 3 June 1938 in Saint-Thomas-la-Garde, near Montbrison in the Loire.

Speleology edit

Throughout his life, Martel strongly promoted the study of speleology, striving to increase its recognition as a scientific field. In his own work, he published some 20 books and 780 articles during the course of his career.[5] At least 53 of his articles were published outside France and several of these were translated into foreign languages. He also made regular trips abroad to conduct lectures on speleological subjects.[5]

Société de Spéléologie edit

In 1895 in Paris, Martel founded the Société de Spéléologie, a scientific organisation which would regularly publish articles on speleology in its periodical, Spelunca. The formation of this society was one of the means by which he was able to turn speleology into an internationally recognised science, with many foreign authors publishing articles, many French authors publishing articles on foreign caves and with the society growing to include 33% foreign members by 1909.[5]

Bibliography edit

Martel wrote many books and articles about speleology, hydrology and geology, of which the most notable are listed here:[6][7]

Books edit

  • Les Cévennes (in French), Paris: Delagrave, 1890, 400 p. (12 editions) [8]
  • Les Abîmes (in French), Paris: Delagrave, 1894, ISBN 2-7348-0533-2, 580 p. (10 editions)
  • Le massif de la Bernina (in collaboration with Lorria, A.) (in French), Zürich: Orell, 1895, 200 p.
  • Irlande et cavernes anglaises (in French), Paris: Delagrave, 1897, 400 p.
  • Le Trayas et L'Estérel (in French), Paris: Delagrave, 1899, 80 p.
  • La Spéléologie (in French), Paris: Carre et Naud, 1900, 125 p.
  • Le gouffre et la rivière souterraine de Padirac (in French), Paris: Delagrave, 1901, 180 p.
  • La Photographie souterraine (in French), Paris: Gauthier-Villars, 1903, 70 p.
  • La spéléologie aux XXe siècle (in French), Paris: Hermann, 1905, 810 p.
  • Le sol et l'eau – Traité d'hygiène (in collaboration with de Launay, Ogier and Bonjean) (in French), Paris: Baillere, 1906, 486 p.
  • L'évolution souterraine (in French), Paris: Flammarion, 1908, 388 p.
  • La Côte d'azur russe: Riviera du Caucase (in French), Paris: Delagrave, 1909, 423 p.
  • Les cavernes et les rivières souterraines de la Belgique (Van den Broeck, E, Martel, E.-A. and Rahir, Ed.) (in French), Bruxelles: Lamertin, 1910, (2 vol.) 1800 p.
  • Explications sur Mammoth Cave (in French), 1914
  • Nouveau Traité des eaux souterraines (in French), Paris: Doin, 1921, 840 p.
  • Les causses et gorges du Tarn (in French), Millau: Artieres et Maury, 1926, 512 p.
  • L'Aven Armand (in French), Millau: Artieres et Maury, 1927, 48 p.
  • La France ignorée (2 vol.) (in French), Paris: Delagrave, 1928–1930, 600 p.
  • Les Grands Causses (Les Causses majeurs) (in French), Millau: Artières et Maury, 1936, 510 p.

Articles edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Kliebhan, Bernd, , archived from the original on 2007-10-23, retrieved 2009-04-04
  2. ^ , Histoire (in French), Fédération Française de Spéléologie, archived from the original on 2011-07-20, retrieved 2009-04-05 {{citation}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ Martel, É.-A. (5 September 1889). "Les causses du Languedoc" (PDF). Conférences de l'exposition universelle internationale de 1889 (in French). Paris. Retrieved 30 July 2012. Nul être humain ne nous a précédé dans ces profondeurs, nul ne sait où nous allons ni ce que nous voyons, rien d'aussi étrangement beau ne s'est jamais présenté à nos yeux, ensemble et spontanément nous nous posons la même question réciproque : est-ce que nous ne rêvons pas ?
  4. ^ Martel, É.-A. (1897). "British Caves and Speleology". The Geographical Journal. X (5): 500–511. doi:10.2307/1774383. JSTOR 1774383. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  5. ^ a b c d Shaw, T. R. (1988). "Martel's visit to Mendip in 1904: part of his international strategy?" (PDF). Proceedings of the University of Bristol Spelæological Society. 18 (2): 278–291. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
  6. ^ , archived from the original on 2007-10-23, retrieved 2009-04-04
  7. ^ Schut, Pierre-Olaf (2006), "E. A. Martel, the traveller who almost became an Academician" (PDF), Acta Carsologica, Ljubljana, 35 (1): 149–157, doi:10.3986/ac.v35i1.252, retrieved 2009-04-05
  8. ^ Martel, E. A. (1890). Les Cévennes et la région des Causses: (Lozère, Aveyron, Hérault, Gard, Ardèche) (in French). Delagrave.

Further reading edit

  • André, Daniel; et al. (1997), La Plume et les Gouffres
  • André, Daniel; Gautier, Alain (1995), "La Societe de Speleologie", Spelunca, 60: 11–18
  • Casteret, Norbert (1943), E.-A. Martel, Explorateur du Monde Souterrain, Paris: Gallimard
  • Chabert, Claude; Courval, Michel de (1971), E. A. Martel 1859–1938
  • Kliebhan, Bernd (1999), "The contribution of E.A. MARTEL (1859–1938) to the development of caving technique", Mitt. Verb.dt.Höhlen- u. Karstforsch. Jg., 45 (2), retrieved 24 July 2012
  • Roberts, E. E. (1947), "Edouard Alfred Martel (1859–1938)", Yorkshire Ramblers' Club Journal, Leeds: Yorkshire Ramblers' Club, 7 (24): 105–116, retrieved 24 July 2012
  • Shaw, T. R. (1992), "E. A. Martel", History of Cave Science: the exploration and study of limestone caves to 1900 (2nd ed.), Sydney: Sydney Speleological Society, pp. 48–51

External links edit

  • History of Cave Research: E. A. Martel 1859–1938

December 15, 2023
Édouard, alfred, martel, july, 1859, pontoise, oise, june, 1938, montbrison, father, modern, speleology, world, pioneer, cave, exploration, study, documentation, martel, explored, thousands, caves, native, france, many, other, countries, popularised, pursuit, . Edouard Alfred Martel 1 July 1859 Pontoise Val d Oise 3 June 1938 Montbrison the father of modern speleology 1 was a world pioneer of cave exploration study and documentation Martel explored thousands of caves in his native France and many other countries popularised the pursuit of cave exploration introduced the concept of speleology as a distinct area of scientific study maintained an extensive archive and in 1895 founded Societe de Speleologie 2 the first organisation devoted to cave science in the world Edouard Alfred MartelBorn 1859 07 01 1 July 1859PontoiseDied3 June 1938 1938 06 03 aged 78 MontbrisonKnown forFather of modern speleologyAwardsLegion of Honour Contents 1 Life and Exploration 2 Speleology 2 1 Societe de Speleologie 3 Bibliography 3 1 Books 3 2 Articles 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksLife and Exploration editNo man has gone before us in these depths no one knows where we go nor what we see nothing so strangely beautiful was ever presented to us and spontaneously we ask each other the same question are we not dreaming E A Martel Les causses du Languedoc the Karsts of Languedoc Conferences de l exposition universelle internationale de 1889 3 Edouard Alfred Martel was born in Pontoise Seine et Oise on 1 July 1859 Born into a family of lawyers he studied at the Lycee Condorcet in Paris Early on he became passionate about geography and the natural sciences and in 1877 he won first prize in an open competition for geography He was a great reader of the works of Jules Verne In 1866 while holidaying with his parents he visited the Caves of Gargas in the Pyrenees Other trips allowed him to travel to Germany Austria and Italy In 1879 he visited Postojna Cave in Slovenia an extensive cave system nbsp Birthplace of Edouard Alfred Martel 1 rue de la foret Hardelot Pontoise In 1886 after completing his military service he earned a law degree and became a licensed attorney with the Commercial Court of the Seine Martel devoted his leisure and holiday time to travels across France From 1883 he conducted work on the karstic plateaus of the Causses shaped by the gorges of the Tarn Jonte Dourbie and Lot In June 1888 he began his caving career in the Bramabiau gorge in Gard He and several companions entered a rock cavity where a stream known as Bonheur sinks and reappears farther along the Bramabiau Gorge That same June with the same team he explored the Dargilan Cave along the Jonte Gorge over a mile away In 1889 he visited Padirac Cave near Gramat He climbed down the entrance chasm and reached an underground river at a depth of 100m Martel and his cousin Gaupillat set off to explore with a canoe discovering two kilometres of new passage Martel later bought the Padirac Cave and turned it into a show cave In July 1890 he married Aline de Launay sister of Louis de Launay a professor of geology and future member of the Academy of Sciences Collaboration with Louis de Launay provided a scientific basis for some of Martel s publications including articles in the journal La Nature which Martel and Launay were later editors In 1894 he published The Abyss a book in which he describes the wonders of the underworld he discovered and visited during the six seasons of exploration he undertook from 1888 to 1893 During this period he visited and indexed more than 230 caves In 1895 he ventured further afield and organised an expedition to Ireland and England He discovered the underground lake of Marble Arch in Northern Ireland In Yorkshire he made the first complete descent after a partial descent by Englishman John Birkbeck in 1842 into the pothole of Gaping Gill He reached the Main Chamber 170 feet lower than Birkbeck had ventured 4 That same year he founded the Speleological Society and started a periodic newsletter Spelunca nbsp Drawing by Martel depicting the first exploration of Marble Arch Caves in Ireland 1895 In 1896 he was invited by the Archduke Luis Salvator a cousin of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria to visit their country With his foreman and journeyman Louis Armand he explored several caves on the island of Mallorca In the Cave of Drach near Porto Cristo he discovered the largest underground lake known at the time Martel s explorations intensified around this time prioritizing the exploration of the caves of Causses He also explored the caves and caverns of the limestone regions of Savoie Jura Provence and the Pyrenees He traveled throughout Europe Belgium Dalmatia Bosnia and Herzegovina Montenegro where he investigated the course of the Trebisnjica considered as one of the longest underground rivers in the world In 1899 he finally left professional life to devote himself to his scientific research He served as editor of La Nature from 1905 to 1909 and was a member of the Societe de geographie of which he was elected president In 1912 he spent three days exploring in Mammoth Cave Kentucky where he undertook scientific work including barometric determinations of the elevations of the cave s different levels Martel was active in cave exploration from 1888 1914 recording some 1 500 caves during this time 5 Edward Alfred Martel died 3 June 1938 in Saint Thomas la Garde near Montbrison in the Loire Speleology editThroughout his life Martel strongly promoted the study of speleology striving to increase its recognition as a scientific field In his own work he published some 20 books and 780 articles during the course of his career 5 At least 53 of his articles were published outside France and several of these were translated into foreign languages He also made regular trips abroad to conduct lectures on speleological subjects 5 Societe de Speleologie edit In 1895 in Paris Martel founded the Societe de Speleologie a scientific organisation which would regularly publish articles on speleology in its periodical Spelunca The formation of this society was one of the means by which he was able to turn speleology into an internationally recognised science with many foreign authors publishing articles many French authors publishing articles on foreign caves and with the society growing to include 33 foreign members by 1909 5 Bibliography editMartel wrote many books and articles about speleology hydrology and geology of which the most notable are listed here 6 7 Books edit Les Cevennes in French Paris Delagrave 1890 400 p 12 editions 8 Les Abimes in French Paris Delagrave 1894 ISBN 2 7348 0533 2 580 p 10 editions Le massif de la Bernina in collaboration with Lorria A in French Zurich Orell 1895 200 p Irlande et cavernes anglaises in French Paris Delagrave 1897 400 p Le Trayas et L Esterel in French Paris Delagrave 1899 80 p La Speleologie in French Paris Carre et Naud 1900 125 p Le gouffre et la riviere souterraine de Padirac in French Paris Delagrave 1901 180 p La Photographie souterraine in French Paris Gauthier Villars 1903 70 p La speleologie aux XXe siecle in French Paris Hermann 1905 810 p Le sol et l eau Traite d hygiene in collaboration with de Launay Ogier and Bonjean in French Paris Baillere 1906 486 p L evolution souterraine in French Paris Flammarion 1908 388 p La Cote d azur russe Riviera du Caucase in French Paris Delagrave 1909 423 p Les cavernes et les rivieres souterraines de la Belgique Van den Broeck E Martel E A and Rahir Ed in French Bruxelles Lamertin 1910 2 vol 1800 p Explications sur Mammoth Cave in French 1914 Nouveau Traite des eaux souterraines in French Paris Doin 1921 840 p Les causses et gorges du Tarn in French Millau Artieres et Maury 1926 512 p L Aven Armand in French Millau Artieres et Maury 1927 48 p La France ignoree 2 vol in French Paris Delagrave 1928 1930 600 p Les Grands Causses Les Causses majeurs in French Millau Artieres et Maury 1936 510 p Articles edit Le Canon du Tarn Annuaire du Club Alpin Francais in French 1883 Le Causse Noir et Montpellier le Vieux Annuaire du Club Alpin Francais in French 1884 Sous Terre Annuaire du Club Alpin Francais in French Paris Club alpin francais 1888 Les causses du Languedoc PDF Conferences de l exposition universelle internationale de 1889 in French Paris 5 September 1889 Retrieved 30 July 2012 Sur la temperature des cavernes Comptes rendus de l Academie des sciences in French 118 615 617 1894 Sous Terre 8e campagne Marble Arch Irlande et Gaping Ghyll Angleterre Annuaire du Club Alpin Francais in French Paris Club alpin francais 22 171 209 1895 retrieved 29 July 2012 Sur le gouffre de Gaping Ghyll Angleterre Comptes rendus de l Academie des sciences in French 122 51 53 1896 Sur quelques anomalies de la temperature des sources Comptes rendus de l Academie des sciences in French 122 97 99 1896 Sur des observations d hiver dans les cavernes des Causses Padirac etc Comptes rendus de l Academie des sciences in French 122 903 905 1896 Sur les siphons des sources et des rivieres souterraines Comptes rendus de l Academie des sciences in French 122 1147 1150 1896 Sur la Cueva del Drach Grotte du Dragon dans l ile Majorque Comptes rendus de l Academie des sciences in French 124 1385 1388 1897 Sur l hydrographie souterraine et les chouruns du Devoluy Hautes Alpes Comptes rendus de l Academie des sciences in French 124 1170 1173 1897 Sur la contamination de la source de Sauve Gard Comptes rendus de l Academie des sciences in French 125 897 900 1897 Martel E A Vire A 1897 Sur l aven Armand Lozere profondeur 207 m Comptes rendus de l Academie des sciences in French 125 622 625 Martel E A 1897 British Caves and Speleology The Geographical Journal X 5 500 511 doi 10 2307 1774383 JSTOR 1774383 retrieved 24 July 2012 Spelunca Paris 74 a href Template Citation html title Template Citation citation a Missing or empty title help See also editHerbert E BalchReferences edit Kliebhan Bernd History of Cave Research E A Martel 1859 1938 archived from the original on 2007 10 23 retrieved 2009 04 04 Breve histoire de la speleologie Histoire in French Federation Francaise de Speleologie archived from the original on 2011 07 20 retrieved 2009 04 05 a href Template Citation html title Template Citation citation a External link in code class cs1 code publisher code help Martel E A 5 September 1889 Les causses du Languedoc PDF Conferences de l exposition universelle internationale de 1889 in French Paris Retrieved 30 July 2012 Nul etre humain ne nous a precede dans ces profondeurs nul ne sait ou nous allons ni ce que nous voyons rien d aussi etrangement beau ne s est jamais presente a nos yeux ensemble et spontanement nous nous posons la meme question reciproque est ce que nous ne revons pas Martel E A 1897 British Caves and Speleology The Geographical Journal X 5 500 511 doi 10 2307 1774383 JSTOR 1774383 Retrieved 24 July 2012 a b c d Shaw T R 1988 Martel s visit to Mendip in 1904 part of his international strategy PDF Proceedings of the University of Bristol Spelaeological Society 18 2 278 291 Retrieved 29 July 2012 Publications from E A Martel archived from the original on 2007 10 23 retrieved 2009 04 04 Schut Pierre Olaf 2006 E A Martel the traveller who almost became an Academician PDF Acta Carsologica Ljubljana 35 1 149 157 doi 10 3986 ac v35i1 252 retrieved 2009 04 05 Martel E A 1890 Les Cevennes et la region des Causses Lozere Aveyron Herault Gard Ardeche in French Delagrave Further reading editAndre Daniel et al 1997 La Plume et les Gouffres Andre Daniel Gautier Alain 1995 La Societe de Speleologie Spelunca 60 11 18 Casteret Norbert 1943 E A Martel Explorateur du Monde Souterrain Paris Gallimard Chabert Claude Courval Michel de 1971 E A Martel 1859 1938 Kliebhan Bernd 1999 The contribution of E A MARTEL 1859 1938 to the development of caving technique Mitt Verb dt Hohlen u Karstforsch Jg 45 2 retrieved 24 July 2012 Roberts E E 1947 Edouard Alfred Martel 1859 1938 Yorkshire Ramblers Club Journal Leeds Yorkshire Ramblers Club 7 24 105 116 retrieved 24 July 2012 Shaw T R 1992 E A Martel History of Cave Science the exploration and study of limestone caves to 1900 2nd ed Sydney Sydney Speleological Society pp 48 51External links editHistory of Cave Research E A Martel 1859 1938 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Edouard Alfred Martel amp oldid 1187976855, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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