Marc-Théodore Bourrit came of a family which was of French origin but had taken refuge at Geneva for reasons connected with religion. His father was a watchmaker there, and he himself was educated in his native city. He was a good artist and etcher, and also a pastor, so that by reason of his fine voice and love of music he was made (1768) precentor of the church of St Peter (the former cathedral) at Geneva.[1][2]
This post enabled him to devote himself to the exploration of the Alps, for which he had conceived a great passion ever since an ascent (1761) of the Voirons, near Geneva. In 1775 he made the first ascent of the Buet (3096 m) by the now usual route from the Pierre à Bérard, on which the great flat rock known as the Table au Chantre still preserves his memory. In 1784–1785 he was the first traveller to attempt the ascent of Mont Blanc (not conquered till 1786), but neither then nor later (1788) did he succeed in reaching its summit. On the other hand, he reopened (1787) the route over the Col du Géant (3371 m), which had fallen into oblivion, and travelled also among the mountains of the Valais and the Bernese Oberland.[1]
He received a pension from Louis XVI, and was named the historiographe des Alpes by Emperor Joseph II, who visited him at Geneva. His last visit to Chamonix was in 1812.[1]
Description des Alpes Pennines et Rhetiennes, 1781
Bourrit's writings are composed in a naive, sentimental and rather pompous style, but breathe throughout a most passionate love for the Alps, as wonders of nature, and not as objects of scientific study. His chief works are the Description des glacières de Savoye, 1773 (English translation, Norwich, 1775–1776), the Description des Alpes pennines et rhétiennes (2 vols., 1781), and the Descriptions des cols ou passages des Alpes, (2 vols., 1803), while his Itinéraire de Genève, Lausanne et Chamouni, first published in 1791, went through several editions in his lifetime.[1]
Worksedit
Description des glacières de Savoye, 1773. English translation, Norwich, 1775–1776.
Description des Alpes Pennines et Rhetiennes. Vol. 1. Genève. 1781. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |agency= ignored (help)
Description des Alpes Pennines et Rhetiennes. Vol. 2. Genève. 1781. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |agency= ignored (help)
Itinéraire de Genève. Lausanne et Chamouni, 1791; with several editions.[1]
Descriptions des cols ou passages des Alpes, 2 vols., 1803.
^Fergus Fleming The Conquest of the Alps 2002 – Page 60 "... ode that eulogised Balmat as the Columbus of the Alps, misspelled Paccard's name, disparaged Saussure as a mere amateur and included several laudatory references to one Marc-Théodore Bourrit. Nobody took much notice. Poor Bourrit."
External linksedit
April 26, 2024
marc, théodore, bourrit, 1739, 1819, genevois, traveller, writer, portrait, 1798, jean, pierre, saint, ours, contents, biography, works, references, external, linksbiography, edit, came, family, which, french, origin, taken, refuge, geneva, reasons, connected,. Marc Theodore Bourrit 1739 1819 was a genevois traveller and writer Portrait 1798 by Jean Pierre Saint Ours Contents 1 Biography 2 Works 3 References 4 External linksBiography editMarc Theodore Bourrit came of a family which was of French origin but had taken refuge at Geneva for reasons connected with religion His father was a watchmaker there and he himself was educated in his native city He was a good artist and etcher and also a pastor so that by reason of his fine voice and love of music he was made 1768 precentor of the church of St Peter the former cathedral at Geneva 1 2 This post enabled him to devote himself to the exploration of the Alps for which he had conceived a great passion ever since an ascent 1761 of the Voirons near Geneva In 1775 he made the first ascent of the Buet 3096 m by the now usual route from the Pierre a Berard on which the great flat rock known as the Table au Chantre still preserves his memory In 1784 1785 he was the first traveller to attempt the ascent of Mont Blanc not conquered till 1786 but neither then nor later 1788 did he succeed in reaching its summit On the other hand he reopened 1787 the route over the Col du Geant 3371 m which had fallen into oblivion and travelled also among the mountains of the Valais and the Bernese Oberland 1 He received a pension from Louis XVI and was named the historiographe des Alpes by Emperor Joseph II who visited him at Geneva His last visit to Chamonix was in 1812 1 nbsp Description des Alpes Pennines et Rhetiennes 1781 Bourrit s writings are composed in a naive sentimental and rather pompous style but breathe throughout a most passionate love for the Alps as wonders of nature and not as objects of scientific study His chief works are the Description des glacieres de Savoye 1773 English translation Norwich 1775 1776 the Description des Alpes pennines et rhetiennes 2 vols 1781 and the Descriptions des cols ou passages des Alpes 2 vols 1803 while his Itineraire de Geneve Lausanne et Chamouni first published in 1791 went through several editions in his lifetime 1 Works editDescription des glacieres de Savoye 1773 English translation Norwich 1775 1776 Description des Alpes Pennines et Rhetiennes Vol 1 Geneve 1781 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a Unknown parameter agency ignored help Description des Alpes Pennines et Rhetiennes Vol 2 Geneve 1781 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a Unknown parameter agency ignored help Itineraire de Geneve Lausanne et Chamouni 1791 with several editions 1 Descriptions des cols ou passages des Alpes 2 vols 1803 References edit a b c d e nbsp One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Coolidge William Augustus Brevoort 1911 Bourrit Marc Theodore Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 4 11th ed p 334 Fergus Fleming The Conquest of the Alps 2002 Page 60 ode that eulogised Balmat as the Columbus of the Alps misspelled Paccard s name disparaged Saussure as a mere amateur and included several laudatory references to one Marc Theodore Bourrit Nobody took much notice Poor Bourrit External links editPictures and texts of Description des Alpes Pennines et Rhetiennes by M T Bourrit can be found in the database VIATIMAGES Pictures and texts of Description des cols ou passages des Alpes by M T Bourrit can be found in the database VIATIMAGES Pictures and texts of Description des glacieres glaciers et amas de glace du Duche de Savoie by M T Bourrit can be found in the database VIATIMAGES Pictures and texts of Nouvelle description des glacieres vallees de glace et glaciers qui forment la grande chaine des Alpes de Suisse d Italie et de Savoye by M T Bourrit can be found in the database VIATIMAGES Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Marc Theodore Bourrit amp oldid 1107725335, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
