Amédée Guillemin

Amédée Guillemin (b. July 5, 1826 in Pierre-de-Bresse, France, d. 1893 Pierre-de-Bresse, France) was a French science writer and a journalist.

Guillemin started his studies at Beaune college and went on to Paris, where he taught mathematics for some time and wrote for the liberal press opposed to empire. In 1860, he settled at Chambéry where he became edition secretary of the political journal "La Savoie". After the annexation, he returned back to Paris and he became responsible of the scientific chronicle "l’Avenir national" (national future).

Soon, Guillemain started publishing scientific works of physics and astronomy which garnered wide success. His book, "The Sky" was translated into many languages. His major work was "The Physical World" consisting of five large volumes. He also published, under Hachette, a series of astronomy and physics pamphlets under the title "Small popular encyclopaedia", a robust but accessible collection of sciences and their applications.

Bibliography

*"La Lune" (the moon)
*"Le Soleil" (the sun)
*"La Lumière" et les Couleurs (light and colours)
*"Le Son" (sound)
*"Les Etoiles, notions d’astronomie sidérale" (the stars, notions of sidereal astronomy)
*"Les Nébuleuses" (nebulae)
*"Le Feu souterrain". Volcans et tremblements de terre (underground fire. Volcanoes and earth tremors) containing 55 illustrations
*"La Télégraphie et le téléphone" (telegraphy and the telephone) with 101 illustrations
*"Le Monde Physique" (the physical world) 5 volumes with 31 colour tableaux, 80 black and white tableaux and 2012 illustrations
*"Éléments de cosmographie" (elements of cosmography)
*"La Terre et le ciel" (the earth and the sky) 1888
*"La Vapeur" (steam) "Bibliothèque des merveilles" collection
*"Les Chemins de fer" (railways) "Bibliothèque des merveilles" collection

Guillemin also published, through Lechevalier, "L’Instruction républicaine" (Republican Instruction). He collaborated in very many literary, scientific and political journals and reviews, notably "La Nature", " la République Française" and "la Revue Philosophique et Religieuse". It was Guillemin who drafted the entry on astronomy in the second edition of Dorbigny's dictionary of natural history. Guillemin was also involved in politics and remained faithful to his liberal convictions.

References

*La Nature, N°1024 14 January 1893
*Angelo de Gubernatis: Dictionnaire international des écrivains du jour (1891).