Antide Janvier

Antide Janvier ( born July 1, 1751 Briva, Lavans -lès -Saint -Claude, † September 23, 1835 in Paris) was a French watchmaker and technical writer.

Life and horological performance

Janvier was born in Brive, a village in the French Jura and learned the basics of watchmaking profession of his father, who had recognized his talent and encouraged him. He was taught by a local abbot in Latin, Greek, mathematics and astronomy. At the age of fifteen, he constructed an armillary sphere, which he presented to the Academy of Sciences of Besançon and there was a lot of admiration. After his training, he often stayed on in Morez.

He quickly gained reputation as a manufacturer of complex and difficult watches in the highest quality, including many clocks, globes, astronomical clocks, spheres and planetariums, for which he invented new gear and constructions. 1775 and 1784 he was in Paris and Versailles to his work the kings Louis XV. and Louis XVI. imagine. During the French Revolution he spent because of this royal connections much time in prison and then fell into financial straits, since many of his works were not paid. In 1802 he opened a school for Großuhrmacherei. After the restoration of the monarchy under Charles X., he was awarded in 1826, although a small pension, but died forgotten and in utter poverty.

Known single Watches

• Pendulum of Marrees, 1789, Tide for Louis XVI. Calculation according to the tidal equation of Laplace.

Works

• Etrennes chronométriques pour l'an 1811, ou Précis de ce qui concerne le system, ses divisions, ses mesures, leurs usages, etc, 1810.
• Essai sur les horloges publiques, pour les communes de la campagne, 1811.
• Manuel Chronometrique ou precis de ce qui concerne le temps, ses divisions, ses mesures, leurs usages. Didot, Paris, 1821.
• Précis of Calendriers civil et ecclésiastique. Didot, Paris 1824.
• Recueil des machines et composées executees. Didot, Paris 1827.