Biography

Swiss physicist, geologist and botanist. Horace Bénédict de Saussure was professor at the University of Geneva and had a love of mountains, pioneering topographical studies of the Alps. After attending Geneva College from the age of six, he studied philosophy at the university and graduated in 1759 with a dissertation on the heat in the sun's rays. His uncle a naturalist, Saussure began to explore the environs of Geneva on long walks, and became interested in the plants and geology of the Alps. In 1760 Saussure took his first trip to Chamonix where he collected plants for A. von Haller and would return there in 1764 although this time his attention was turned towards geology.

In 1782 Saussure was elected chair of philosophy at the Geneva Academy where he would remain until his early retirement, and soon he married Albertine Amélie Boissier. Interested in Mont Blanc in particular, he undertook a tour of the mountain in 1767 on which he conducted many experiments into electricity, magnetism and the atmosphere. The following year he and his wife left Geneva and travelled to France and England, visiting scientific institutions and conversing with major academic figures, such as Benjamin Franklin with whom he discussed electricity.

Returning in 1769 he would not remain long in Switzerland and between 1771 and 1774 visited Italy twice, the second time travelling as far as Sicily where he climbed Mount Etna. Saussure maintained strong liberal views throughout his life, particularly with regards to education, so, when he was named Rector of the university, he proposed the development of a public education system. This was met with uproar and it was clear he would not be able to make any changes, so instead he created a Society of Arts and become its first president in 1776.

From this time until 1792, Saussure continued his exploration of the Alps, often in the company of his son, Nicolas-Théodore, and always with his experimental instruments to take meteorological and topographic measurements. Although retiring in 1786 due to ill health, his exploration continued and the following year he was part of the second party to ascent Mont Blanc. Reaching this peak enabled him to review the topography of the region and also made him into a well known public figure. His final trip was to the Matterhorn in 1792, but on his return the effects of the French Revolution meant that he and his wife (who was from a very wealthy family) lost most of their possessions. What's more, Saussure began to suffer from seizures and although he looked for work in some of the universities in Europe, a stroke in 1794 left him physically disabled. Luckily, with the help of his son, he was able to publish many of his findings from his years of Alpine exploration, producing Voyages dans les Alpes, précédés d'un essai sur l'histoire naturelle des environs de Genève between 1779 and 1796. Clearly he expected to have had more time to publish the results of his years of experimentation, and so dedicated a section of Voyages to the studies he hoped others would take up.

Saussure was named both a fellow of the Royal Society of London (1788) and a member of the French Academy of Sciences (1791) for his contributions to science. These were indeed many; the conclusions he drew about the formation of the Alps was ahead of his time and not far from what we understand today. As well as being remembered for his geological studies in the Alps, Saussure is also responsible for popularising the very word "geology" which took over from geognosy in the 1770s. He also worked for several years in local councils and public offices, keen to make changes to the education system, but soon became disillusioned with politics after the massacre of the bastions and resigned from all of his posts. The genus Saussurea DC. in the Asteraceae was named after his son, who was the first scientist to develop a balanced equation for photosynthesis.

Sources:
A.V. Carozzi, 1975, "Saussure, Horace Bénédict de", Dictionary of Scientific Biography, 12: 119-123
D.W. Freshfield, 1920, The Life of Horace Benedict de Saussure.