Alphonse Briart (1825-1898) was supervisor of the coal mines at Bascoup and Mariemont near Morlanwelz in the Hainaut province of Belgium, and a geologist who studied that region. During the period 1863-1896 he and Francois Cornet published a number of books and papers describing fossils found near Mons. After Cornet's death in 1887, Briart continued to write alone.