Antoine-Jean-Marie Thévenard

Antoine Jean Marie Thévenard, comte de Thévenard (; 7 December 1733 – 9 February 1815) was a French politician and vice admiral. He served in the French ruling regimes of Louis XVI, those of the Revolution, Napoleon and Louis XVIII; he was made a count in 1810 and given a seat in the Senate, which he retained in the Chamber of Peers in 1814. He is buried at the Panthéon in Paris.

His son Capitaine de vaisseau Antoine René Thévenard was killed at the Battle of the Nile whilst commanding the 74-gun Aquilon. Thevenard Island off the coast of Western Australia bears his name.

Career Thévenard was born to Antoine Thévenard, a senior officer in the merchant navy, and Jeanne Moinet.

Aged 12 he embarked on a Compagnie des Indes ship and fought in several battles. He became a lieutenant in 1754 and destroyed the English establishments on the Newfoundland coast and took part in François Thurot's expedition to Ireland in 1759. He earned the rank of Capitaine de vaisseau in the French Indies Company in 1764,

In May 1791, Thévenard replaced Fleurieu as ministre de la Marine under Louis XVI, then Toulon, then Rochefort, and became Préfet maritime of Lorient then Toulon in 1801, to examine the events of the action of 18 June 1799, in which he had lost his ships. He similarly presided at the court-martial following the capture of the Guillaume Tell in 1800, and the enquiry on the conduct of Rear-Admiral Dumanoir le Pelley at the Battle of Trafalgar. In 1809, he investigated the capitulation of Flessingen.

On 5 February 1810 he was made a comte d'Empire and member of the Sénat conservateur. In this capacity, he voted for the dismissal of Napoléon in 1814, which earned him an appointment to the Chambre des Pairs by Louis XVIII after the Bourbon Restoration in 1814. On 27 December 1814, he was promoted Commandeur in the Order of Saint-Louis.

Thévenard died on 9 February 1815 and was interred in the Panthéon in Paris.

Memberships 1771: Member of the Académie de Marine 1787: Member of the Académie des Sciences

Honours 1773: Knight of the Ordre de Saint-Louis. He was promoted to Commander on 27 December 1814, under the Bourbon Restoration. 1804: Grand officer of the Légion d'honneur buried in the Panthéon

Works By Antoine-Jean-Marie Thévenard Rapports à l'Académie de Marine Services militaires des officiers de l'ancienne Compagnie des Indes Sur une École de marine à Lorient Sur le Commerce des Indes-Orientales Calculs pour tirer un vaisseau à terre Comparaison des courbes de fer à celles de bois Observations sur l'ordonnance de la marine du 27 Septembre 1776 Projet de guerre contre les Anglais Mesurer avec précision la profondeur de la mer en sondant Nouvelle édition du Neptune oriental Sur l'établissement d'un port de secours à Pontrieux Expérience sur l'air dans les vaisseaux désarmés Essai sur les phares Observations météorologiques Sur le doublage en cuivre des vaisseaux, les toiles à voiles, la circulation du sang, la pêche à la sardine, la conservation des gens de mer, le commerce entre la France et les États-Unis Sur l'Île de la Trinité Sur l'enduit nommé galgale Sur le magnétisme animal Sur les Volcans, l'Artillerie, la Mécanique, la Lumière, le Nivellement de la Mer Rouge, la Résistance des Fluides, le Passage du raz de Sein ou de Fontenay

All the above were later re-printed in four volumes as Mémoires relatifs à la marine.

Notes and references