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The public garden Pierre Termier

Briançon
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Pierre Termier was born on 3 July 1859 in Lyon. His parents were from a simple background, his mother worked in the silk industry and his father was a commercial traveller. At first he received a literary education. But, attracted by a scientific vocation, he then studied at the Polytechnique from 1878 to 1880. Geology came into his life unexpectedly: "The first time I heard about geology was in 1879, at an altitude of almost 3,000 metres, on the summit of the Belledonne. I was then a polytechnician on holiday and, for the time being, a simple mountaineer; and I would have gladly said that only three things are worth living for: beautiful verses, elegant integrals and tough climbs". Very attracted by teaching, he asked for and obtained in 1885 the chair of Geology, Mineralogy and Physics at the Ecole des Mines de Saint-Étienne. Pierre Termier loved the Alps: their majestic proportions and the geological enigma they represent. He was a poet, an artist, a scientist, but also a sportsman capable of hard climbing: "Among the beautiful and great things on Earth, it is the mountains, perhaps, the noble and powerful mountains, that speak most eloquently to men of stability, immutability, and permanence. The Briançonnais was his favourite field of study because he understood that "the key to the structure of the French Alps is certainly to be found in the mountains between Briançon and Vallouise". On 28 August 1894, in the company of the guide Emile Pic and his son Théophile, he made the first ascent of the Roche de Jabel (3,002 m) after a seven-hour climb. Leaving Monêtier-les-Bains, he attacked the Glacier du Casset, arrived at the Col glaciaire du Casset, climbed up the beautiful ice and snow ridge to the west towards the Sommet des Agneaux and arrived at the rocks he wanted to question. He wrote "Le beau mémoire sur les montagnes entre Briançon et Vallouise". A peak in the Galibier Group, on the eastern ridge that runs towards the Col de la Ponsonnière, was given the name Roc Termier. Pierre Termier loved teaching, he understood that the role of the teacher, of the Master, is not only to instruct young people, to make them love Science but also to make this science progress. He travelled a lot: to Corsica, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. It was during his last trip to Morocco that he felt the first effects of the disease that took him away in a few days in 1930. His private life was marked by many bereavements and much pain. Pierre Termier married a wonderful woman in 1883, who died after a very long illness. Seven children were born of this union, two sons and five daughters. The two sons, two sons-in-law and several grandchildren died, leaving him in pain.
Pierre Termier was Inspector General of Mines, Director of the Geological Map of France, Professor of General Geology at the École des Mines de Paris, and a member of the Institute. He wrote numerous works.

    Code postal
    05100
    Commune
    Briançon
      Géolocalisation