author
baron de Pierre-Marie-Joseph Bonnefoux
1782–1855
A French naval officer who lived through the Napoleonic era, he later turned hard-won experience at sea into books that helped explain the language and practice of sailing ships. His memoirs and maritime dictionaries still offer a vivid window into the world of nineteenth-century seafaring.
2 Audiobooks
Vie de Christophe Colomb
by baron de Pierre-Marie-Joseph Bonnefoux
Mémoires du Baron de Bonnefoux, Capitaine de vaisseau, 1782-1855
by baron de Pierre-Marie-Joseph Bonnefoux
About the author
Born in Béziers on April 22, 1782, Pierre-Marie-Joseph de Bonnefoux served as a French naval officer during the years of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. His career placed him close to the dangers and routines of life at sea, including combat, capture, and the long discipline of naval service.
After his active service, he became known not only as a sailor but also as a writer and teacher of maritime knowledge. He wrote practical works on navigation and seamanship, and he is especially remembered for his Dictionnaire de la marine à voile, a respected reference on the language of sailing ships.
Bonnefoux died in Paris on December 14, 1855. For readers today, his appeal lies in the mix of lived adventure and clear technical knowledge: he was someone who had truly known the age of sail from the deck outward.