From the Earth to the Moon · Character

Impey Barbicane

President of the Gun Club who bets the nation's pride on firing a manned projectile at the Moon, and forgets his own duel while sketching the equations to make it survivable.

major

Also known as President Barbicane, Barbicane, the Barbicane, October President Barbicane, friend Barbicane, the unfortunate Barbicane, the Yankee Barbicane, Friend Barbicane

First appearance: The Gun Club

As a major figure in From the Earth to the Moon, Impey Barbicane is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

President of the Gun Club; issues a circular calling a meeting for an extremely interesting communication.

In the storyThe Gun ClubOpen this moment free

Barbicane is the sober Yankee engineer whose calm authority turns a room of Baltimore artillerymen into a moon-shot project, and whose rivalry with Captain Nicholl nearly ends in rifle fire. That rivalry is the story's early engine: the two men who most want each other dead are the two whose combined genius the voyage requires. His defining trait is absorption — he can sit against a catalpa tree, gun unloaded, tracing geometry while a man hunts him through the woods — and it is exactly this single-mindedness that makes the impossible scheme credible.

See Impey Barbicane in The Gun Club Book page

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Character Web

11 connections

A slice of how Impey Barbicane sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Friendship
Rivalry
Professional

Character groups

Protagonist
Projectile passengers and supporters
Gun Club members and cannon

+6 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

This excerpt marks the dramatic climax because Michel Ardan’s confident, visionary rhetoric is suddenly challe…

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Relationships

Michel Ardan
friendship · positive
Barbicane and Ardan share a close, enthusiastic friendship as co-planners and travelers… How this plays out →
Captain Nicholl
rivalry · ambivalent
J. T. Maston
friendship · positive
Major Elphinstone
professional · positive
General Morgan
professional · positive
Murchison
professional · positive
Rodman
professional · positive
Michel Ardan
friendship · positive
Barbicane and Ardan share a close, enthusiastic friendship as co-planners and travelers… How this plays out →
J. T. Maston
friendship · positive
J. T. Maston
friendship · positive
Captain Nicholl
rivalry · ambivalent
Major Elphinstone
professional · positive

Michel Ardan
Barbicane and Ardan share a close, enthusiastic friendship as co-planners and travelers on the moon mission.
Captain Nicholl
Nicholl and Barbicane begin as fierce intellectual rivals over the feasibility of the moon shot, but later reconcile.
J. T. Maston
Barbicane and Maston are close colleagues and friends, with Maston serving as Barbicane's devoted secretary and supporter.
Major Elphinstone
Barbicane and Major Elphinstone work together as fellow members of the Gun Club, with Elphinstone assisting in the moon project.
General Morgan
General Morgan is a fellow Gun Club member and supporter of Barbicane's moon mission, offering military expertise.
Murchison
Barbicane and Murchison have a professional relationship, with Murchison likely involved in engineering aspects of the cannon.
Rodman
Barbicane and Rodman have a professional connection, with Rodman likely contributing to cannon construction.
Michel Ardan
Barbicane and Ardan share a close, enthusiastic friendship as co-planners and travelers on the moon mission.
J. T. Maston
Barbicane and Maston are close colleagues and friends, with Maston serving as Barbicane's devoted secretary and supporter.
J. T. Maston
Barbicane and Maston are close colleagues and friends, with Maston serving as Barbicane's devoted secretary and supporter.
Captain Nicholl
Nicholl and Barbicane begin as fierce intellectual rivals over the feasibility of the moon shot, but later reconcile.
Major Elphinstone
Barbicane and Major Elphinstone work together as fellow members of the Gun Club, with Elphinstone assisting in the moon project.

Relationship notes

How these ties play out is in the reading companion — open the free preview.

See Impey Barbicane in The Gun Club

In the story

Impey Barbicane appears across 28 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

The Gun Club
President of the Gun Club; issues a circular calling a meeting for an extremely interesting communication.
President Barbicane's Communication
President of the Gun Club, delivers the historic proposal to send a projectile to the moon.
Effect of President Barbicane's Communication
President of the Gun Club; delivers the historic communication and is carried in triumph by the crowd.
Answer from the Cambridge Observatory
President of the Gun Club; initiates the consultation with the Cambridge Observatory and receives the scientific answers.
The Romance of the Moon
Referenced indirectly as the leader of the Gun Club's lunar project, which this chapter contextualizes within the broader history of lunar study.
What It Is Impossible to Ignore and What Is No Longer Allowed to Be Believed in the United States
His proposition triggers a nationwide educational campaign about the moon.
The Hymn of the Cannonball
Presides over the committee meeting, proposes the projectile's dimensions and material, and suggests using a high-altitude telescope to track the projectile.
History of the Cannon
Leads the committee discussion, proposing the cannon's dimensions, form, and material, and reassuring the group about funding.
The Question of Powders
President of the Gun Club; proposes using pyroxyle to reduce powder volume and doubles Maston's proposed quantity to 1,600,000 lbs. before converting to fulminating cotton.
One Enemy Against Twenty-Five Millions of Friends
President of the Gun Club, target of Captain Nicholl's opposition, remains focused on his project and ultimately accepts Nicholl's wager.
Florida and Texas
President of the Gun Club; proposes using existing U.S. territory and ultimately decides on Tampa Town, Florida, to avoid further rivalry.
Urbi et Orbi
President Barbicane issues a manifesto and orchestrates the global subscription, signing the contract with the Goldspring Manufactory.
Stony Hill
Leads the expedition to Florida, surveys the land, and selects Stony Hill as the launch site for the Columbiad.
Pickaxe and Trowel
Leads the entire operation, laying the first sleepers of the railway, animating the workforce, and overseeing every detail of the excavation. He remains at Stony Hill for eight months, ensuring worker health and safety.
The Ceremony of the Casting
President of the Gun Club, oversees the casting operation and insists on a private ceremony for safety.
The Columbiad
President of the Gun Club, oversees the completion of the Columbiad, opens the enclosure to the public, and receives payment from Captain Nicholl.
A Telegram
Receives the unexpected telegram from Michel Ardan, reacting with visible shock.
The Passenger of the Atlanta
President of the Gun Club; meets Ardan on deck, questions his resolve, and later orders the casting of the projectile suspended.
A Meeting
Moderates the discussion, asks about planetary habitability, and is praised by Ardan.
Thrust and Parry
Watches the debate with apprehension, is directly attacked by the unknown, and is carried away in triumph with Ardan.
How a Frenchman Settles an Affair
Found absorbed in solving a mechanical problem, having forgotten the duel; accepts Ardan's proposal.
The New Citizen of the United States
Accompanies Ardan, discusses lunar influence on maladies, and oversees the preparatory experiment.
The Projectile Compartment
President of the Gun Club; oversees the redesign of the projectile and devises the water-based shock absorber.
The Telescope of the Rocky Mountains
As president of the Gun Club, Barbicane credits the Cambridge Observatory with the funds for the telescope and oversees the project.
Final Details
Oversees the dangerous loading of the guncotton and the placement of the projectile, manages the provisioning, and reluctantly accepts Nicholl's bet payment.
Fire!
Calmly gives last orders before entering the projectile.
Cloudy Weather
Barbicane is one of the travelers in the projectile, cheered by the crowd after the launch.
A New Star
One of the three travelers now trapped as a satellite of the moon.

Chapter companion notes

Spoil-light check-ins for Impey Barbicane unlock in the free preview.

See Impey Barbicane in The Gun Club