Melchisédech Thévenot

Melchisédech or Melchisédec Thévenot (c. 1620 – 29 October 1692) was a French writer, scientist, traveller, cartographer, orientalist, inventor, and diplomat. He was the inventor of the spirit level and is also famous for his popular posthumously published 1696 book The Art of Swimming, one of the first books on the subject and widely read during the 18th century. Benjamin Franklin, an avid swimmer in his youth, is known to have read it. The book popularized the breaststroke (see History of swimming) ; he was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1990. He also influenced the founding of the Académie Royale des Sciences (the French Academy of Sciences).