# Impey Barbicane — Round the Moon character guide > Impey Barbicane in Round the Moon by Jules Verne. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Barbicane, President Barbicane, friend Barbicane **First appearance:** 0001-i-from-10-20-p-m-to-10-47-p-m ## Snapshot President of the Gun Club, a man so calmly American that he writes a receipt in pencil while sealed inside a projectile aimed at the moon. ## Who they are Barbicane commands the expedition with the composure of a countinghouse clerk, settling accounts with Nicholl mid-voyage and checking his chronometer against Murchison's to the tenth of a second. His authority rests on precision, not warmth, and the contrast with Ardan's chatter defines the bullet's social weather. He is the scientific instinct of the enterprise — the reason the shot was fired at all — and the reason it might actually arrive. Every early crisis is measured against his calm. ## Relationships ### [Michel Ardan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/characters/michel_ardan) _friendship_ Close companions and fellow space travelers, sharing a bond of mutual respect and adventurous spirit. ### [Captain Nicholl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/characters/captain_nicholl) _rivalry_ Former competitors in the gun club who evolve into respectful colleagues, though their contrasting personalities create tension. ### [J. T. Maston](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/characters/j_t_maston) _friendship_ Longtime friends and fellow members of the Gun Club, with Maston deeply loyal to Barbicane's projects. ### [Diana](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/characters/diana) _friendship_ Barbicane regards Diana with affection, as a loyal pet and part of the expedition team. ### [Lieutenant Bronsfield](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/characters/lieutenant_bronsfield) _professional_ Barbicane and Bronsfield have a formal working relationship, with Bronsfield likely assisting in the expedition's logistics. ### [Murchison](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/characters/murchison) _professional_ Barbicane and Murchison collaborate on technical or observational aspects of the lunar mission. ### [Michel Ardan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/characters/michel_ardan) _friendship_ Close companions and fellow space travelers, sharing a bond of mutual respect and adventurous spirit. ### [Michel Ardan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/characters/michel_ardan) _friendship_ Close companions and fellow space travelers, sharing a bond of mutual respect and adventurous spirit. ### [Captain Nicholl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/characters/captain_nicholl) _rivalry_ Former competitors in the gun club who evolve into respectful colleagues, though their contrasting personalities create tension. ### [Captain Nicholl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/characters/captain_nicholl) _rivalry_ Former competitors in the gun club who evolve into respectful colleagues, though their contrasting personalities create tension. ### [J. T. Maston](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/characters/j_t_maston) _friendship_ Longtime friends and fellow members of the Gun Club, with Maston deeply loyal to Barbicane's projects. ### [Diana](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/characters/diana) _friendship_ Barbicane regards Diana with affection, as a loyal pet and part of the expedition team. ## In the story ### [Preliminary Chapter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/preliminary-chapter) President of the Gun Club and promoter of the lunar enterprise; his scientific instincts are highlighted. ### [From 10:20 p.m. to 10:47 p.m.](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/i-from-10-20-p-m-to-10-47-p-m) Leads the final preparations, advises on positioning to withstand the shock, and calls for a moment of prayer before launch. ### [The First Half-Hour](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/ii-the-first-half-hour) Calmly identifies the asteroid, calculates their position, and later solves the mystery of the missing detonation sound. ### [III: Taking Possession](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/iii-taking-possession) Leads the inspection of instruments and supplies, remains calm and methodical. ### [A Little Algebra](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/iv-a-little-algebra) Explains the algebraic formula for the projectile's velocity, demonstrating his mathematical expertise. ### [The Temperature of Space](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/v-the-temperature-of-space) Calculates their true trajectory, realizes they are not falling, and leads the burial of Satellite. ### [Questions and Answers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/vi-questions-and-answers) Provides scientific explanations about heat, motion, and lunar eclipses; identifies the reason the floating object stays level with the projectile. ### [A Moment of Intoxication](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/vii-a-moment-of-intoxication) Gravely responds to Nicholl's question about returning; privately concerned about trajectory deviation but keeps it from his companions. ### [At Seventy-Eight Thousand One Hundred and Fourteen Leagues](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/viii-at-seventy-eight-thousand-one-hundred-and-fourteen-leagues) Explains the physics of weightlessness and the neutral point; leads the discussion on gravity and celestial bodies. ### [The Consequences of Deviation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/ix-the-consequences-of-deviation) Obsessed with discovering why the projectile deviated; hypothesizes an asteroid's attraction caused the deviation; oversees preparations for a lunar fall. ### [X: The Observers of the Moon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/x-the-observers-of-the-moon) Barbicane identifies the cause of the deviation, leads the observations, and logically explains to Ardan why they cannot reach the moon. ### [Imagination and Reality](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/xi-imagination-and-reality) Studies the lunar map geographically, measuring angles and diameters of seas and mountains, and dismisses the poetic interpretations. ### [XII: Orographical Details](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/xii-orographical-details) Leads the observations, identifies lunar features, and instructs his companions to work as astronomers despite their uncertain fate. ### [Lunar Landscapes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/xiii-lunar-landscapes) Leads the observations, explains lunar crevices and color variations, and regrets not being able to guide the projectile. ### [A Night of Three Hundred and Fifty-Four Hours and a Half](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/xiv-a-night-of-three-hundred-and-fifty-four-hours-and-a-half) Calmly explains the lunar night phenomenon, the differences between the visible and invisible hemispheres, and the effects of libration. He is preoccupied with the mystery of why the projectile did not fall onto the moon despite its proximity. ### [Hyperbola or Parabola](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/xv-hyperbola-or-parabola) Leads the scientific discussion on the projectile's trajectory, calculates the bolis's size and speed, and remains calm in the face of danger. ### [XVI: The Southern Hemisphere](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/xvi-the-southern-hemisphere) Analyzes the projectile's trajectory, deducing it has become an elliptical orbit around the moon, and contemplates their grim fate. ### [XVII: Tycho](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/xvii-tycho) Leads the observation of lunar mountains, identifies snow on the peaks, and explains the moon's independent formation. ### [Grave Questions](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/xviii-grave-questions) Leads the scientific discussion, argues the moon is not currently habitable but was once inhabited, and explains the cooling theory. ### [A Struggle with the Impossible](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/xix-a-struggle-with-the-impossible) Analyzes the projectile's trajectory, calculates the neutral point, and leads the plan to use rockets; ultimately accepts their fall toward Earth with resignation. ### [XX: The Soundings of the Susquehanna](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/xx-the-soundings-of-the-susquehanna) Mentioned as one of the travellers; the crew imagines him organizing notes on the moon. ### [Picked Up](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/xxii-picked-up) One of the rescued travelers, playing dominoes with Ardan and Nicholl when discovered. ### [The End](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/chapters/xxiii-the-end) Returns to Earth and is celebrated as a hero; his travel notes are published; becomes President of the National Company for Interstellar Communication. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/characters/impey_barbicane - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/round_the_moon_se/characters