Gabriel Jacques Surenne
Gabriel Jacques Surenne FSA FASE (1777-1858) was a 19th-century French-born military historian living in Scotland who authored numerous publications in the fields of warfare and battle analysis and also in French grammar.
Life[]
He was born in Compiegne in France on 25 October 1777.
His early life is unclear other than various references made by himself as to having been trained in Paris. A newspaper epitaph mentions his war service with Napoleon Bonaparte in his successful Italian Campaign. He appears in Edinburgh around 1830, both as a teacher and prodigious author of educational French text books.
He was a master at the , an Edinburgh institution 'for training young men, chiefly for the service of the royal and East India Company's services; Surenne also contributed to the various branches of military education such as fortification, military drawing, gun-drill, and military exercises.[1] The Academy was closed in the late 19th century.
In later life he is listed as living with his wife and daughter, Elizabeth Surenne, at 8 Great King Street in Edinburgh's Second New Town, reflecting a fairly noble life-style.[2]
He lived at 8 Great King Street[3] with his family including his son Daniel F Surenne (1804-1861) who was an art teacher. A second son, Prof John Surenne, taught piano at 66 Great King Street.
He died in Edinburgh on 12 September 1858. He is buried in a north-west section of Dean Cemetery with his wife, Sophia Lecointe.
Theory of Mons Graupius[]
Surenne analysed the noted historic battle of Mons Graupius and concluded in a letter to Sir Walter Scott[4] that the most likely location of this first recorded battle in Scottish history was in the vicinity of Kempstone Hill and the Raedykes Roman Camp.[5]
Publications[]
- The Pocket French Grammatical and Critical Dictionary (1830)
- Petit Cours de Francais (1831) published by Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh
- Standard Pronouncing Dictionary of the French and English Languages (1845)
- A Practical Grammar of French Rhetoric (1846)
- New French Dialogues (1851)
- A Genealogical Account of the Royal House of Bruce (1854)
- A New French Manual and Traveller’s Companion
- Dictionary of the French and English Languages
It is unclear if Surenne is also the same as Voltaire Gabriel Surenne who also published books on French military subjects.
References[]
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- 1858 deaths
- People associated with Edinburgh
- 19th-century French people
- French historians
- French male non-fiction writers
- French military personnel stubs
- French historian stubs