Jacques Balmat it turns out, possesses an extraordinary mountaineering sense, an unerring instinct for the crevasses and seracs of the glaciers ..." After the successful ascent, Balmat collected the reward offered 25 years before by Horace-Bénédict de Saussure to the first man who could climb Mont Blanc. On 3 August 1787 he assisted de Saussure himself to reach the summit with a party of about 17 people. During the Napoleonic Wars, Savoy fell under French control, and Citizen Jacques Balmat became a member of the council of the commune. He led an unsuccessful attempt to introduce Merino sheep into the Chamonix valley.
Jacques Viger (Member of the Assembly) His son, Jacques Viger, was the first mayor of Montreal and his nephew Louis-Michel Viger became a lawyer and also served in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada. His nephew Denis-Benjamin later played an important role in the politics of the province. Jacques Viger (Member of the Assembly) Jacques Viger (November 23, 1735 – January 21, 1798) was a political figure in Lower Canada. He was born in Montreal on November 23, 1735, the son of the shoemaker Jacques Viger. On May 7, 1764, he married Amaranthe Prévost, the daughter of Eustache Prévost and Marie-Madeleine Sarrault. In 1796, Jacques Viger