Jacques-Nicolas Bellin

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Jacques-Nicolas Bellin: Carte réduite de l'océan septentrional..., from: L'hydrographie françoise, Paris 1766

Jacques-Nicolas Bellin (1703 – 21 March 1772) was a French hydrographer and cartographer.

Bellin was born in Paris. In 1721 Bellin was appointed hydrographer (chief cartographer) to the French Navy upon the creation of France's hydrographic office, the Dépôt des cartes et plans de la Marine. Appointed "ingénieur hydrographe" in August 1741. Member of the Académie de Marine and of the Royal Society of London. Over a 50 year career, he produced a large number of maps of particular interest to the Ministère de la Marine. His maps of Canada and of French territories in North America (New France, Acadia, Louisiana) are particularly valuable. He died at Versailles.

Published during his lifetime were:

Hydrographie française (1753)
Carte de l'Amerique septentrionale (Map of Northern America) (1755)
Petit Atlas Maritime (1764)
Nouvelle méthode pour apprendre la géographie (1769)

[edit] References

E. Taillemite. Dictionnaire des marins français. Paris, 1982.
Jean-Marc Garant. Jacques-Nicolas Bellin (1703-1722), cartographe, hydrographe, ingénieur du ministère de la Marine: sa vie, son oeuvre, sa valeur historique. Thèse (M.A., Histoire), Montréal: 1973