Pierre Forfait
| Pierre-Alexandre Laurent Forfait | |
|---|---|
Portrait of Pierre-Alexandre-Laurent Forfait by Mattheus Ignatius van Bree, between 1803 and 1807.
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| Born |
21 April 1752 Rouen |
| Died | 8 November 1807 (aged 55) Rouen |
| Nationality | French |
| Occupation | Engineer |
| Awards | Commandeur of the Legion of Honour |
Pierre-Alexandre-Laurent Forfait (21 April 1752, Rouen – 8 November 1807, Rouen) was a French engineer, hydrographer and politician, and Minister of the Navy.
Born to a family of rich merchants, Forfait studied at a Jesuit college in Rouen, where he was awarded prizes in Mathematics and Hydrography upon graduation. In 1773, and in spite being a Commoner, he was admitted as an assistant member of Rouen Academy and assistant naval engineer, before serving at Brest harbour.
In 1777, Forfait rose to sub-engineer under Antoine Groignard. In 1781, he was made an adjunct member of the Naval Academy. In 1783, he embarked on the 110-gun Terrible, part of a Franco-Spanish fleet assembled before Cádiz under Admiral d'Estaing, but the end of the American War of Independence occurred before it saw action. Forfait nevertheless helped repair eleven of the ships of the fleet.
After the Treaty of Paris, he returned to work at the Naval Academy and notably authored a Traité de la mâture upon request by Castries, then Secretary of State of the Navy. In recognition, he was admitted as a corresponding member in the Academy of Sciences. He simultaneously developed new techniques to improve the disposition of cargo in ships' holds.
In 1789, he was appointed director of service of Le Havre harbour, where he improved the design of fluyts. He was then sent to England to study the British shipbulding techniques, and authored the Observations sur la marine de d'Angleterre upon his return.
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