Expedition to Egypt — Etienne Malus
Etienne-Louis Malus survived one of the most bizarre undertakings in the history of science and engineering, Napoleon Bonaparte’s expedition to Egypt.
In 1793, Malus was a brilliant student of Gaspard Monge at the military engineering school in Mézières. However, the French Revolution interrupted his studies, and Malus enrolled as a regular member of the army. Malus’ mathematical talents were recognized by his commanders, and he was selected to be a member of the first class to attend the newly-formed Ecole Polytechnique. There he studied under Joseph Fourier. After graduation, Malus joined the army’s corps of engineers, but he remained associated with the Ecole Polytechnique as an examiner.
In 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte embarked on a secret military expedition to Egypt and the Middle East. Nominally, the purpose of Napoleon’s expedition was to open a trade route between Europe and southwest Asia, thus challenging England’s dominance over trade with India. But, it is likely that government leaders wanted to minimize the political influence of the ambitious young Napoleon by moving him far from Paris.
The expedition was a military disaster, but it succeeded in providing Napoleon with valuable experience in statecraft. Napoleon recruited a corps of around 150 civilian scientists, engineers, and artists to provide technical and cultural support for the expedition in Egypt — the Institute of Egypt. The opportunity to interact with the civilian experts on his own terms, as part of a military campaign, gave Napoleon experience using experts in science and engineering as instruments of government.
The expedition included three of the scientists and engineers later selected for recognition by Gustave Eiffel: the civilian scientists Monge and Fourier, and the military engineer Malus. As the former student of both Monge and Fourier, Malus was readily accepted as a member of the scientific corps. In this capacity, Malus mapped the tributaries of the Nile and began research in optics that he would continue after returning to Paris.
Malus also contracted the black plague, which incapacitated Napoleon’s army — one of several disasters the befell the expedition. Malus survived and returned to France, eventually achieving scientific renown by discovering the phenomenon of polarization of light, a term he coined. However, surviving to write about the dangers and deprivations experienced by the French expedition to Egypt also counts as a singular achievement.
Etienne Malus is one of the 72 scientists and engineers named on the Eiffel Tower.
