baron de Pierre-Marie-Joseph Bonnefoux

Born in Béziers on April 22, 1782, Pierre-Marie-Joseph de Bonnefoux served in the French navy during the Napoleonic era and later became known not only as an officer but also as a respected naval instructor and author. French reference sources describe him as both a sailor and a lexicographer, reflecting how closely his writing grew out of practical experience at sea.

He is especially remembered for works on naval terminology, including a Dictionnaire de la marine à voiles et à vapeur, written with his son-in-law Edmond Pâris, and an earlier abridged marine dictionary with English and Spanish terms. These books gave clear language to a fast-changing maritime world and helped make technical seamanship more accessible.

Bonnefoux died in Paris on December 14, 1855. His lasting appeal comes from the mix of action and precision in his career: he witnessed naval conflict firsthand, then turned that knowledge into memoirs and reference works that still interest historians, sailors, and readers drawn to the world of ships.