BRISSON (Maravasz JAMES), a zoologist and natural • philosopher, born at Fontenay le Comte, 3d April 1723, the son of Mathurin Brisson and Louisa Gabrielle Jourdain.
He was originally intended for the church, but he bad at an early age a taste for natural his tory, which was particularly encouraged by the ad vantage that he enjoyed of passing his holidays with the justly celebrated Resumer, who had an estate near Fontenay. At the age of twenty-four, he had made great progress in his theological studies, and had fully qualified himself for the rank of a subdea con • but his courage failed him 'at the time appoint ed for taking orders, and he then determined to con fine himself to the study of physical sciences. Resu mer had the direction of the Chemical Laboratory of the Academy of Sciences, and had given up the salary attached to it to several young men in succes whom he appointed as his assistants, and of whom Pitot and Nollet became 'afterwards the most distinguished. He now chose Brisson for the situa tion, which served him, as it had done his predeces sors, rather a• a step in his advancement with respect to general science, than in enabling him to pursue any objects more immediately chemical ; and he fol lowed his passion in attaching himself, almost exclu sively, to natural history. The collection of Rego naur furnished him with ample materials for his stu dies, and with the principal subjects described in his works on the Animal Kingdom. The first of these was published in 1756, containing quadrupeds and cetaceous animals. It consists of simple descriptions of the different species, together with synonyms in various languages, more in the nature of a prodro mus than of a complete history. His Ornithologis appeared in 1760, forming six volumes, and contain ing a number of well-executed plates. But upon Reaumer's death, the collection having been added to the Royal. Cabinet, Messrs Buffon and Daubenton, the Directors of that Cabinet, not afibrding him al the accommodations that be expected, he disconti• nued the work, and altogether renounced the study of natural history in favour of natural philosophy.
M. Brisson had been chosen a Member of the Academy of Sciences in 1759: he soon afterwards associated himself with the Abbe Nollet in deliver ing lectures on experimental physics, and obtained the reversion of his appointments of Professor in the College of Navarre, and Instructor of the royal fa mily in Natural Philosophy and Natural History. The subject of electricity was at this time warmly debated between Nollet and Franklin ; and M. Bris son had a difficult task to perform, in discussing the merits of a mistaken friend and an overbearing op ponent; but, in fact, this department of science was at that time too little understood to make it disgrace ful for Nollet to be in error with respect to the utili ty of conductors, or for Brisson to remain neuter upon this and other similar questions. He seems, however. by no means to have adhered to the cha
racter of neutrality in his anonymous Translation of Priesdey's History of Electricity, published in 1771, and accompanied by notes, which exhibit a spirit of acrimonious criticism, not at all calculated to en hance the merit of the work, which he wished to in. troduce to the notice of his countrymen. He also attempted, in an Essay on Water posts, published in the Memoirs of the Academy, to explain •variety of electrical phenomena, by means of the different currents of fluid imagined by Nollet, but certainly with very little success.
He afterwards undertook a course of experiments on the Specific Gravity of Alcohol and Water, mixed in different proportions, which led him to a conjec ture, at that time somewhat singular, that water was not aneoue substance. He assisted M. observers, in the experiments which they made on Heat and Light with the power ful less of Berniere; and, in conjunction with M. Cadet, he endeavoured to disprove the opinion of Beocaria, that electricity has a power of reviving the Metallic oxyds. He also made experiments on the Refractive powers of fluids which aught be substitut ed for flint glass, in the object glasses of telescopes ; on the utility of different kinds of Steel for 'magnet& cal purposes ; and on the mode of renewal of the Shelia of some species of Snails.
In 1772, M. Brisson published a memoir on the Specific Gravities of Metals, a subject which, in all its extent, occupied a 17e" portion of his attention during twenty years of his Bib. The results of his experiments, on a great variety of substances, were collected into a single volume of Tables of Specs* Gravities, which was published in 1787. it was principally for the use of students who attended his lectures, that he published his Trait, de Physique, and his Dwtionnaire ; both of them containing ele mentary and popular information, rather calculated exclusively for the immediate purpose which they were intended to serve, than for being of permanent utility in the promotion of the sciences. At a late period of his life, he renewed his attention to the subject of chemistry, when the discoveries of his ju nior contemporaries had given greater certainty and precision to its laws ; and his last work was an Be.
tutelary Treatise on that science, intended. er the use of his pupils in the central school.
His whole life was occupied in his studies, and the history of his various works comprehends the history of every thing that is to be recorded concerning him. After eighty years of uninterrupted activity of mind, an attack of apoplexy reduced him to a state of second childhood, and effaced from his memory even all traces of his native language, except a few words of the dialect of Poitou, which he had spoken when he was a boy. He died • the 28d June 1806 ; and his place in the Academy was filled by M. tiay Lussac. ( Delambre, Mcrn, hat. Par. VII. Hist. p.189.) (r. v.)