COLIN, ELIE. - French missionary and astronomer, b. at Graulhet (Tarn) on 28 Nov. 1852, d. at Tananarive on 11 Apr. 1923. He entered the Jesuit novitiate in Toulouse in 1870. He had been a priest for two years when his superiors entrusted him (1887) with the task of establishing a scientific foundation intended to enhance the prestige and usefulness of the nascent mission in Madagascar.
In 1889 he laid the foundation stone of the observatory at Ambohidempona (near Tananarive); in the same year, together with Fr. Désiré Roblet, he began the triangulation of the Imerina region, which, continued after the Hova War, became the basis of all cartography of central Madagascar. While illness forced Fr. C. to leave the island (1892), the observatory was destroyed at the end of the Franco-Hova War. Fr. C. rebuilt it the following year, and from then on, despite severe financial difficulties, he devoted himself entirely to patient scientific work in seismology, magnetism, astronomy, geodesy, and especially meteorology in the colony, particularly in the forecasting of cyclones. The government recognized his services to the colonial enterprise with high distinctions; from 1899, Fr. C. was a corresponding member of the Institute of France. His bibliography, compiled by his successor, numbers more than 168 items, including books, articles, observations, and maps. Two titles stand out from his specialty: together with Fr. P. Suan, he published a popular volume on the island, *Madagascar et la mission catholique* (Paris 1895); an accomplished musician, he also carefully collected the old native songs: *Mélodies malgaches* (Tananarive 1899).