Jean-Baptiste Bécœur
Jean-Baptiste Bécœur (16 April 1718, Metz, France – 16 September 1777) was a French ornithologist. Bécœur's parents were well-placed. His father, François Bécœur, was an apothecary, his mother, Anne Vaucremont, was the daughter of a doctor. He studied pharmacy first with his father and then in Germany, and finally in Paris where he attended the courses of Antoine de Jussieu. He then returned to Metz. He was initially interested in philosophy and mathematics, but then devoted himself to natural history, studying mainly insects and birds. At this time, conservation techniques were mediocre. Bécoeur developed a method that preserved bird specimens and prevented them from being damaged by insect attack. He sent birds thus prepared to the Jardin du Roi, later to become the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, which earned him the praises of naturalist Georges-Louis Buffon and helped revolutionize the conservation of birds and ornithology at the museum. He tried several ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Metz
Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand Est region. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany and Luxembourg,Says J.M. (2010) La Moselle, une rivière européenne. Eds. Serpenoise. the city forms a central place of the European Greater Region and the SaarLorLux euroregion. Metz has a rich 3,000-year history,Bour R. (2007) Histoire de Metz, nouvelle édition. Eds. Serpenoise. having variously been a Celtic ''oppidum'', an important Gallo-Roman city,Vigneron B. (1986) Metz antique: Divodurum Mediomatricorum. Eds. Maisonneuve. the Merovingian capital of Austrasia,Huguenin A. (2011) Histoire du royaume mérovingien d'Austrasie. Eds. des Paraiges. pp. 134,275 the birthplace of the Carolingian dynasty,Settipani C. (1989) Les ancêtres de Charlemagne. Ed. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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François Levaillant
François Levaillant (born Vaillant, later in life as Le Vaillant, ''"The Valiant"'') (6 August 1753 – 22 November 1824) was a French author, explorer, naturalist, zoological collector, and noted ornithologist. He described many new species of birds based on birds he collected in Africa and several birds are named after him. He was among the first to use colour plates for illustrating birds and opposed the use of binomial nomenclature introduced by Carl Linnaeus, preferring instead to use descriptive French names such as the bateleur (meaning "tumbler or tight-rope walker") for the distinctive African eagle. Life François Vaillant was born in Paramaribo, the capital of Dutch Guiana ( Surinam), the son of Nicolas François, a French lawyer from Metz who had fled there after eloping with his mother Catherine Joséphine and then took up a position as the French Consul. Growing up amid forests, François took an interest in the local fauna, collecting birds and insects. His family ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1777 Deaths
Events January–March * January 2 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of the Assunpink Creek: American general George Washington's army repulses a British attack by Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis, in a second battle at Trenton, New Jersey. * January 3 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Princeton: American general George Washington's army defeats British troops. * January 13 – Mission Santa Clara de Asís is founded in what becomes Santa Clara, California. * January 15 – Vermont declares its independence from New York, becoming the Vermont Republic, an independent country, a status it retains until it joins the United States as the 14th state in 1791. * January 21 – The Continental Congress approves a resolution "that an unauthentic copy, with names of the signers of the Declaration of independence, be sent to each of the United States. *February 5 – Under the 1st Constitution of Georgia, 8 counties are ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1718 Births
Events January – March * January 7 – In India, Sufi rebel leader Shah Inayat Shaheed from Sindh who had led attacks against the Mughal Empire, is beheaded days after being tricked into meeting with the Mughals to discuss peace. * January 17 – Jeremias III reclaims his role as the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, chief leader within the Eastern Orthodox Church, 16 days after the Metropolitan Cyril IV of Pruoza had engineered an election to become the Patriarch. * February 14 – The reign of Victor Amadeus over the principality of Anhalt-Bernburg (now within the state of Saxony-Anhalt in northeastern Germany) ends after 61 years and 7 months. He had ascended the throne on September 22, 1656. He is succeeded by his son Karl Frederick. * February 21 – Manuel II (Mpanzu a Nimi) becomes the new monarch of the Kingdom of Kongo (located in western Africa at present day Angola) when King Pedro IV (Nusamu a Mvemba) dies after a reign ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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French Revolutionary War
The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Britain, Habsburg monarchy, Austria, Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia, Russian Empire, Russia, and several other monarchies. They are divided in two periods: the War of the First Coalition (1792–97) and the War of the Second Coalition (1798–1802). Initially confined to Europe, the fighting gradually assumed a global dimension. After a decade of constant warfare and aggressive diplomacy, France had conquered territories in the Italian Peninsula, the Low Countries and the Rhineland in Europe and abandoned Louisiana (New France), Louisiana in North America. French success in these conflicts ensured the spread of revolutionary principles over much of Europe. As early as 1791, the other monarchies of Europe looked with ou ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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War Of The First Coalition
The War of the First Coalition (french: Guerre de la Première Coalition) was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797 initially against the Kingdom of France (1791-92), constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French First Republic, French Republic that succeeded it. They were only loosely allied and fought without much apparent coordination or agreement; each power had its eye on a different part of France it wanted to appropriate after a French defeat, which never occurred. Noah Shusterman – ''De Franse Revolutie (The French Revolution).'' Veen Media, Amsterdam, 2015. (Translation of: ''The French Revolution. Faith, Desire, and Politics.'' Routledge, London/New York, 2014.) Chapter 7 (p. 271–312) : The federalist revolts, the Vendée and the beginning of the Terror (summer–fall 1793). Relations between the French revolutionaries and neighbouring monarchies had deteriorated following the Declaration of Pillnitz in August 1791. Eight mo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Siege Of Mainz (1793)
In the siege of Mainz (german: Belagerung von Mainz), from 14 April to 23 July 1793, a coalition of Prussia, Austria, and other German states led by the Holy Roman Empire besieged and captured Mainz from revolutionary French forces. The allies, especially the Prussians, first tried negotiations, but this failed, and the bombardment of the city began on the night of 17 June. Siege Within the town the siege and bombardment led to stress between citizens, municipality and the French war council, governing since 2 April. The city administration was displaced on 13 July; this increased the stubbornness of the remaining population. Since a relief army was missing, the war council was forced to take up negotiations with the allied forces on 17 July; the remaining soldiers capitulated on 23 July. Nearly 19,000 French troops surrendered at the end of the siege, but were allowed to return to France if they promised not to fight against the allies for one year. Consequently, they were u ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Karlsberg Castle
Karlsberg Castle (german: Schloss Karlsberg) is a castle ruin on Buchenberg east of Homburg in Saarland, Germany. The castle was constructed from 1778 to 1788 in Baroque and Classical style by Johann Christian von Mannlich, architect and general building director of the dukes of Zweibrücken, by order of Charles II August, Duke of Zweibrücken. The castle was the largest country palace of Europe and served as the residence of the Duke of Zweibrücken. In 1793 the castle was destroyed by French revolutionary troops. Historical situation Charles II August was the son of the (titular) Count Palatine and prince of Palatinate-Zweibrücken and Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Bischweiler Frederick Michael. This means, his father was the head of the house Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Bischweiler, a side branch of the house Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, which was a side branch of the ducal house of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, which itself was a side branch of the house of Wittelsbach-Palatinate, which ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Charles II August, Duke Of Zweibrücken
Charles II August Christian (german: Karl II. August Christian; 29 October 1746 – 1 April 1795) was Duke of Zweibrücken from 1775 to 1795. A member of the Palatine House of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, a branch of the House of Wittelsbach, he was the elder brother of the first King of Bavaria, Maximilian I, and of Queen Amalia of Saxony. Biography Charles was born in Düsseldorf, the oldest of five children of Frederick Michael, Count Palatine of Birkenfeld and Countess Palatine Maria Franziska of Sulzbach. His father converted to his mother's Roman Catholic faith shortly after his birth, he and his siblings being raised in that denomination. He inherited the duchy of Zweibrücken from his paternal uncle, Duke Christian IV, in 1775. He was heir presumptive to his childless cousin Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria whom, however, he predeceased. He ceded to his younger brother Maximilian Joseph the county of Rappoltstein in 1776, having inherited it when their father died i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bird Collections
Bird collections are curated repositories of scientific specimens consisting of birds and their parts. They are a research resource for ornithology, the science of birds, and for other scientific disciplines in which information about birds is useful. These collections are archives of avian diversity and serve the diverse needs of scientific researchers, artists, and educators. Collections may include a variety of preparation types emphasizing preservation of feathers, skeletons, soft tissues, or (increasingly) some combination thereof. Modern collections range in size from small teaching collections, such as one might find at a nature reserve visitor center or small college, to large research collections of the world's major natural history museums, the largest of which contain hundreds of thousands of specimens. Bird collections function much like libraries, with specimens arranged in drawers and cabinets in taxonomic order, curated by scientists who oversee the maintenance, use ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Government Of France
The Government of France ( French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who is the head of government, as well as both senior and junior ministers. The Council of Ministers, the main executive organ of the Government, was established in the Constitution in 1958. Its members meet weekly at the Élysée Palace in Paris. The meetings are presided over by the President of France, the head of state, although the officeholder is not a member of the Government. The Government's most senior ministers are titled as ministers of state (''ministres d'État''), followed in protocol order by ministers (''ministres''), ministers delegate (''ministres délégués''), whereas junior ministers are titled as secretaries of state (''secrétaires d'État''). All members of the Government, who are appointed by the President following ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |