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Nom
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Bion Nicolas
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Date de naissance
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1652
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Date de mort
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1733
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Lieu de mort
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Paris
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Biographie
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Bion married in 1678 at the age of 26, and is mentioned as a maker from 1681 onwards. He had nine children baptised respecively in 1682, 1683, 1686, 1687, 1688, 1694, 1695, 1697, and 1698. One of the best known makers of the late 17th and early 18th century, Bion was juré of the Founders’ Corporation from 1700-1702 and again from 1714-16. Ingénieur du Roi, numerous instruments by him have survived although it is not always simple to distinguish them from those of his fifth son, Jean-Baptiste-Nicolas (qv), who succeeded him. In 1681 he published Deshayes revised edition of Denis Henrion’s L’Usage du compas de proportion [check]. His realisation of Tarragoni's compass for the trisection of angles was mentioned in the Journal des Sçavans for 1688. A Butterfield type dial with the owner’s name ‘Jean Floriet’ on the reverse is known, as is a small set of drawing instruments in gold. The parallactic machine devised by Camus was made by Bion.
In the composition of his books Bion was not generous in acknowledging his sources. According to Houzeau & Lancaster he incorporated Courtin's Traité de cosmographie into his work without indication, and Pierre Polinière accused him of outright plagiarism. In May 1726 Polinière deposed a plee against Bion to the effect that he had taken the liberty of pillaging the book [the 1718 edition of Polinière's Expériences de physique] in an numerous places. He provides a detailed list of passages of up to an entire page, and of illustrations, thus illegally copied, complete with the mistakes which had escaped him. By way of redress, Polinière demanded the suppression of Bion's offending books, 1500 livres fine plus expenses. The affair was settled out of court, Bion admitting the charges and promising to remove the offending passages in any future editions of his works and to desist from the practice. Although Polinière dropped the charges, he nonetheless published an account of the case. According to Lalande, La Hire was supposed to have had a large part in the writing of Bion’s treatise on instruments (1).
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Notes biographiques
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1. For a fuller account see Turner 2014.
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Bibliographie
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Description & usage d’un cadran au soleil ê Boussole, portatif et universel depuis 40 jusques environ 60 degrez d’élévation du Pôle..., Paris n.d.
Instruction pamphlet known in only one surviving example.
Usage des globes célestes et terrestres, et des sphères suivant les différens systèmes du monde, Paris (Houry & Boudet), 1694 (vente Rossini 2002 lot 13 - check not misprint.
Paris, 1699, 8o
Nouvelle edition, Amsterdam, 1700, 4o. Title as above but continues with a semi-colon after ‘monde’ Précedé d’un traité de Cosmographie. Recueillis par le Sieur Bion. Nouvelle edition, corrigé, & enrichie des nouvelles planches.
Paris, 1703, 12o
Paris, 1717, 8o
Paris (Brunet, Gasteau & Robustel), 1728, 8o
Paris, 1739, 8o
Dernière edition, Paris (J. Guérin & Nyon fils), 1751.
German translation based on the 4th edition of 1728 by Christian Philippe Berger, Abhandelung von der Weltbeschreibung, und der Gebrauch der Himmels und Erdkugeln, auch sphaeren, nach verschiedenen Weltverfassungen, Lemgo 1736.
L’Usage des astrolabes tant universels que particulier, accompagné d'un traité qui en explique la construction, Paris, 1702.
Description de la sphère et des globes dédiez et presentez à Monseigneur le Dauphin, Paris 1704
Description et usage du planisphère celeste nouvellement construit, suivant les dernières observations de Messieurs de l'AcadÄmie Royale des Sciences, Paris, 1708.
Traité de la construction et des principaux usages des nstrumens de mathématique. Avec les figures nécessaires pour l'intelligence de ce traité, Paris, 1709.
2nd edition, 1716
Nouvelle edition, The Hague, 1723 (pirated edition)
3rd edition, 4o, 1725
4th edition (Jombert & Nion), 4o, 1752.
English translation by Edmund Stone, The Construction and principal Uses of mathematical Instruments, London, 1723
2nd edition with Supplement, London, 1758, reprinted in facsimile, London, 1972.
German translation by Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr, Dritte Eroffnung der neuen mathematische Werck-schule Nicolai Bion, in welscher die Zubereitung und der Gebrauch verschiedener astronomischen Instrumenten beschrieben wird von Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr, Nuremberg 1721
another edition Nuremberg, 1726, 1717, 1728.
Date not known, a pamphlet describing the use of de la Hire's Sun and Moon eclipse predictor that is described in chapter V of the 'Construction et Usages …', 4th edition, pp. 234-40 where there is mention that (p. 239), 'the author has also had printed separately a booklet to explain its use'.
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Adresse ; enseigne ; période ; source
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Quay de l'Horloge Paris au Quart de Cercle (Calvert 48).
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Instrument
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truc 0000-00-00
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Identifiant
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1
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ark:/18469/1s7cx