A. Mimart was born in Besançon/France. From the age of 16 (1844), he studied Cor à pistons i.e. valved (ascending) French Horn at the Paris Conservatoire with the valved horn pioneer Prof. Joseph Meifred. Mimart won a second prize at the annual competition of the Conservatoire in 1854 (no first prize given). 1854 he became "Sous-directeur" (later Chef de Musique) of the French military music band "Gendarmerie de la Garde Imperiale"until 1859. 1859-62 and 1865-67 he is in the same function working for the French Navy partly in East Asia.
