He published several articles on astronomy and meteorology in scientific journals.
He was one of the founders in 1853 of the Institut national genevois and presided from 1894 to 1902 over its section of natural sciences.
He was a member in 1848 of the Conseil administratif de Genève and member from 1848 to 1854 of the Grand Conseil de Genève, over which he presided several times.
He was one of the organizers of the first International Congress of Mathematicians, which was held in Geneva in 1897.