Jacques Balmat for gold in the Sixt valley in 1834. Jacques Balmat Jacques Balmat, called "le Mont Blanc" (1762–1834) was a mountaineer, a Savoyard mountain guide, born in the Chamonix valley in Savoy, at this time part of the Kingdom of Sardinia. A chamois hunter and collector of crystals, Balmat completed the first ascent of Mont Blanc with physician Michel-Gabriel Paccard on 8 August 1786. For this feat, King Victor Amadeus III gave him the honorary title "le Mont Blanc". Balmat and Paccard's ascent of Mont Blanc was a major accomplishment in the early history of mountaineering. C. Douglas Milner wrote "The
Jacques-Michel Hurel de Lamare for private audiences, where he enjoyed greater acclaim. He married into wealth in 1815, after which he mostly retired from performance, dying in Caen in 1823. His performance skills were legendary in their time, praised by François-Joseph Fétis among others. He does not appear to have been gifted as a composer, however, and it is not clear whether any works of his survive. Several works were published under his name during his lifetime, including four cello concertos, but these were likely composed by his close friend Daniel Auber. Jacques-Michel Hurel de Lamare Jacques-Michel Hurel de Lamare (1 May 1772 –