Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/511

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MICHEL he discovered a Persepolitan monument, which he sent to the cabinet of antiquities in the royal library at Paris. Commissioned by the French government in 1785 to make a journey through North America, he traversed a great part of the continent from Florida to Hudson bay, established botanic gardens near Charles- ton and New York, and sent home an im- mense quantity of plants and seeds. The New York garden was really in Bergen co., N. J. The government allowance for the expense of this undertaking having ceased at the revolu- tion, he made use of his private purse until it was exhausted. On his voyage home he was shipwrecked and lost all that he possessed except four cases of specimens. He reached home in 1796, and found that the plantations to which he had contributed 60,000 young trees had been destroyed during the revolu- tion. In 1800 he joined the expedition to Aus- tralia under Capt. Baudin, but left it at the Isle of France, and went to Madagascar, where he was attacked by fever and died. He left an Histoire des chenes de VAmerique Septen- trionale (fol., Paris, 1801), and Flora Boreali- Americana (2 vols. 8vo, 1803). II. Franfois Andre, a French botanist, son of the preceding, born in Versailles in 1770, died at Vaur6al, near Pontoise, Oct. 23, 1855. He was employ- ed by the French government on a scientific mission to North America, to decide what species of the forest trees of that country might profitably be introduced into Europe, and made three voyages to the United States, whence he sent to France large quantities of valua- ble seeds. His principal work is Histoire des arbresforestiers de VAmerique Septentrionale (4 .vols. 8vo, Paris, 1810-'13), of which an Eng- lish translation by the author was published in Paris and Philadelphia (4 vols. 8vo, 181 7-' 19), and another edition, translated by Hillhouse (Philadelphia, 1830). Three supplementary volumes were added by Thomas Nuttall in 1842-'9, which contained the trees not in- cluded in Michaux's work, and the whole is now published in five volumes, two by Mi- chaux and three by Nuttall. He also pub- lished Memoire sur la naturalisation des ar- Tyres forestiers de VAmerique (Paris, 1805), and Voyage d Vouest des monts Alleghanies (1804 ; English translation, London, 1805). MICHEL, Francisqne Xavier, a French archae- ologist, born in Lyons, Feb. 18, 1809. He began his literary career in Paris as a writer for the journals, and in 1832 published two historical novels, Job and Audefroi le bdtard. His chief attention, however, was given to philosophical researches, and between 1830 and 1833 he edited several publications writ- ten in mediaeval French, including La chronique de Du Guesclin, Les chansons de Coucy, Le lai d'ffavelok le Danois, &c. In 1835 he was commissioned by Guizot, then minister, to make researches into early French history and literature among the libraries of England, and in 1839 he was appointed professor of foreign MICHELET 493 literature in the faculty of Bordeaux. Between 1834 and 1842 he published in London or Paris more than 30 works in French, Saxon, or Eng- lish, written between the llth and 14th cen- turies, many of which were then printed for the first time. Among the most important are: the Roman d'Eustache le Moine (1834); Tristan, a collection of poems of the 12th and 13th centuries in French, Anglo-Norman, and Greek (2 vols. 12mo, London, 1835); Chro- niques anglo-normandes (3 vols. 8vo, Rouen, 1836-'40), illustrating the history of England and Normandy during the llth and 12th cen- turies; La chanson de Roland (1837); Chro- niques des dues de Normandie (4 parts, 1837- '40), by the troubadour Benoit; La chanson des Saxons, by Jean Bodel (2 vols. 8vo, 1839-'40), a narrative of the life of Wittekind; " Chron- icle of the War between the English and the Scots in 1173 and 1174" (1840) ; Histoire des dues de Normandie et des rois d 1 Angleterre (1840) ; and Le roman du Saint- Graal, in verse (1841). He has also produced several original works of considerable erudition, in- cluding his Histoire des races maudites de la France etdeVEspagne (2 vols. 8vo, 1847); Le lime d>or des metiers (2 vols. 8vo, 1851-'4); Histoire des tissus de soie au moyen age (2 vols. 4to, 1852-'4); Le pays Basque (1857); Les Ecossais en France et les Francais en Ecosse (1862) ; and Histoire du commerce et de la navi- gation a Bordeaux, principalement sous V ad- ministration anglaise (1867). He has trans- lated several English works. MICHEL ANGELO. See BTJONAROTTI. MICHELET, Jules, a French historian, born in Paris, Aug. 21, 1798, died at Hyeres, Feb. 9, 1874. He studied in the college Charlemagne, and after travelling in Germany was called in 1821 to the chair of history in the college Rollin, where he was also professor of the an- cient languages and of philosophy till 1826, publishing in that period his Tableau chrono- logique de Vhistoire moderne (1825), and Ta- bleaux synchroniques de Vhistoire moderne (1826). In 1827 he was made maUre des con- ferences in the normal school, and in 1'830 chief of the historical section of the archives of France. In that year Guizot, who was divert- ed from literature to politics, chose him to con- tinue his lectures in the faculty of letters. His reputation was extended by a series of histori- cal works, and in 1838 he was appointed to the chair of history in the college de France, and elected a member of the institute. Among his publications are : Precis de Vhistoire moderne (1828) ; Introduction d Vhistoire universelle (1831) ; a translation of Vice's Scienza nuova, under the title of Principes de la pTiilosopTiie de Vhistoire (1831) ; Histoire romaine (1831); Memoir es de Luther (1833) ; and Precis de Vhistoire de France jusqu'd la revolution fran- caise (1833). In 1833 appeared the first por- tion of his most important work, the Histoire de France (16 vols. 8vo, completed in 1867). His academical lectures were distinguished for