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.
First Architect to the King First Architect to the King Under the Ancien Régime, the First Architect to the King () was the direct assistant to the general director of the building industries, arts and manufactures of France and, consequently, number 2 of the Bâtiments du Roi, forming part of the Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi. The Premier Architecte du Roi was, in theory, in charge of the works of maîtrise d'œuvre on behalf of the building industries of King. Hence, Ange-Jacques Gabriel was in charge of the design of the Place de la Concorde chosen from the best ideas submitted to