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Jean-Nicolas Céré
Jean-Nicolas Céré (20 August 1737 – 2 May 1810) was a French botanist and agronomist born on the Indian Ocean Isle de France (now Mauritius) but educated in Brittany and Paris. On the Isle de France he was befriended by Pierre Poivre (1719–1786), administrator of the Isle de France and Ile Bourbon (Réunion), who he assisted in the cultivation of spices. When Poivre was recalled to France in 1773 Céré was appointed Director of the Royal Garden at Monplaisir (now Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden), a position he held from 1775 to the time of his death in 1810. During his time on the island Céré encouraged plant exchange, making a considerable contribution to economic botany by sending living plants to many countries, raising numerous peppers, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg trees which he distributed to the neighbouring French islands, and also introducing to Mauritius useful plants from Malaysia, America, China and elsewhere. Biography Details of Céré's life, on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giant Water Lilies
In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''wiktionary:gigas, gigas'', cognate wiktionary:giga-, giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 from Robert of Gloucester (historian), Robert of Gloucester's chronicle. It is derived from the ''Giants (Greek mythology), Gigantes'' ( grc-gre, Γίγαντες) of Greek mythology. Fairy tales such as ''Jack the Giant Killer'' have formed the modern perception of giants as dimwitted ogres, sometimes said to eat humans, while other giants tend to eat the livestock. The antagonist in ''Jack and the Beanstalk'' is often described as a giant. In some more recent portrayals, like those of Jonathan Swift and Roald Dahl, some giants are both intelligent and friendly. Literary and cultural analysis Giants appear in the folklore of cultures worldwide as they represent a relatively simple concept. Representing the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
César Lecat De Bazancourt
César Lecat baron de Bazancourt (1810–1865) was a French military historian, director of the library of Compiègne under Louis Philippe. He was born in Paris and was appointed official historiographer by Napoleon III, whom he accompanied during several campaigns. The results of these expeditions appeared in his works on ''L'Expédition de Crimée jusqu'à la prise de Sébastopol, chronique de la guerre d'Orient'' (1856); ''La campagne d'Italie de 1859, chronique de la guerre'' (1859); and ''Les expéditions de Chine et de Cochinchine'' (two volumes, 1861–62). Other works *History **''Histoire de Sicile sous la domination des Normands'' (1846) *Novels **''Georges le montagnard'' (1851) **''Noblesse oblige'' (1851) **''La princesse Pallianci'' (1852) * External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bazancourt, Baron de Cesar French people of the Crimean War 1810 births 1865 deaths French male non-fiction writers 19th-century French historians 19th-century French ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joseph Martin (gardener)
Joseph Martin (fl. 1788–c.1819) was an Enlightenment gardener-botanist and plant collector who worked at the Jardin du Roi in Paris. He was sent on collecting expeditions to the Isle de France (now Mauritius), Madagascar, Cape and Caribbean. Gardener-botanists in the Enlightenment During the Enlightenment both France and England organised elaborate programs of plant introduction to explore the potential of plants not only as food for their colonies but as botanical novelties of all kinds. In Paris the project planning was placed in the hands of the Head Gardener of the Jardin du Roi, André Thouin, who recommended an inventory of plants, both native and exotic, in each colony, and the development of a reciprocal plant exchange system – all under the control of the garden in Paris. Part of this program was the sending of outstanding horticulturists and botanists (élève-botanists and élève-jardiniers) on voyages of scientific exploration. Collecting in Mauritius In 1788 Ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Franz Boos
Franz Boos (23 December 1753 ( Frauenalb) – 9 February 1832 (Vienna) ) was an Austrian gardener-botanist in the Age of Enlightenment, a voyager and collector of natural history specimens for Emperor Joseph II of Austria, who reigned from 1765 to 1790. Boos came from a gardening family that lived in the Grand Duchy of Baden, his father being head gardener in Rastatt, his son Joseph Boos (1794–1879) being an assistant gardener at the Schönbrunn Palace. Franz began his career in 1771 as a gardener to Prince Leopold of Dietrichstein in Seelowitz (Moravia). From 1774 to 1775 he worked at the famous gardens of Prince Johann I of Liechtenstein in Lednice (also in Moravia) then, in 1776, he became assistant gardener at the Imperial and Royal Court Gardens of Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna. Franz Boos is best known for successful voyages to America, the Caribbean and South Africa during which he collected a wide range of natural history specimens for the parks and gardens, menagerie, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor Francis I, and the brother of Marie Antoinette, Maria Carolina of Austria and Maria Amalia, Duchess of Parma. He was thus the first ruler in the Austrian dominions of the union of the Houses of Habsburg and Lorraine, styled Habsburg-Lorraine. Joseph was a proponent of enlightened absolutism; however, his commitment to secularizing, liberalizing and modernizing reforms resulted in significant opposition, which resulted in failure to fully implement his programs. Meanwhile, despite making some territorial gains, his reckless foreign policy badly isolated Austria. He has been ranked with Catherine the Great of Russia and Frederick the Great of Prussia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tropical Cyclone
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its location and strength, a tropical cyclone is referred to by different names, including hurricane (), typhoon (), tropical storm, cyclonic storm, tropical depression, or simply cyclone. A hurricane is a strong tropical cyclone that occurs in the Atlantic Ocean or northeastern Pacific Ocean, and a typhoon occurs in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. In the Indian Ocean, South Pacific, or (rarely) South Atlantic, comparable storms are referred to simply as "tropical cyclones", and such storms in the Indian Ocean can also be called "severe cyclonic storms". "Tropical" refers to the geographical origin of these systems, which form almost exclusively over tropical seas. "Cyclone" refers to their winds moving in a circle, whirling round ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gourami
Gouramis, or gouramies , are a group of freshwater anabantiform fishes that comprise the family Osphronemidae. The fish are native to Asia—from the Indian Subcontinent to Southeast Asia and northeasterly towards Korea. The name "gourami", of Indonesian origin, is also used for fish of the families Helostomatidae and Anabantidae. Many gouramis have an elongated, feeler-like ray at the front of each of their pelvic fins. All living species show parental care until fry are free swimming: some are mouthbrooders, like the Krabi mouth-brooding betta (''Betta Simplex''), and others, like the Siamese fighting fish (''Betta splendens''), build bubble nests. Currently, about 133 species are recognised, placed in four subfamilies and about 15 genera. The name Polyacanthidae has also been used for this family. Some fish now classified as gouramis were previously placed in family Anabantidae. The subfamily Belontiinae was recently demoted from the family Belontiidae. As labyrinth fishe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Academy Of Agriculture Of France
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ..., founded approximately 385 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and Skills, skill, north of Ancient Athens, Athens, Greece. Etymology The word comes from the ''Academy'' in ancient Greece, which derives from the Athenian hero, ''Akademos''. Outside the city walls of Athens, the Gymnasium (ancient Greece), gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a center of learning. The sacred space, dedicated to the goddess of wisdom, Athena, had formerly been an olive Grove (na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jacques Labillardière
Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière (28 October 1755 – 8 January 1834) was a French biologist noted for his descriptions of the flora of Australia. Labillardière was a member of a voyage in search of the Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse, La Pérouse expedition. He published a popular account of his journey and produced the first Flora (publication), Flora on the region. Early life Jacques Labillardière was born in Alençon, Normandy, France, on 28 October 1755. The ninth of 14 children of a lace merchant, he was born into a devoutly Roman Catholic family of modest means.Duyker (2003) p. 8. The surname ''Labillardière'' originated with Labillardière's grandfather, Jacques Houtou, who, in an affectation of nobility, appended the name of the family's estate, ''La Billardière'', after his surname. Labillardière was thus baptised under the surname ''Houtou de Labillardière'', but he later dropped the patronymic, retaining only ''Labillardière'' in both h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
André Thouin
André Thouin (10 February 1747 – 24 October 1824) was a French botanist. Thouin studied botany under Bernard de Jussieu, and in 1793 attained the chair of horticulture at the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle in Paris. He was a good friend of U.S. President Thomas Jefferson, and the godfather of Jean Baptiste Lamarck's son Andre. He is remembered for contributions made in the field of agronomy, including scientific studies that involved improved grafting techniques and seed selection. He played an important role in the reshaping of Natural History in France during the revolution. He was a pioneer conservationist, stressing the importance of replacing woodlands to compensate for their destruction due to human encroachment. The plant genre, '' Thouinia'' (family Sapindaceae, 1804) from Central and South America, and ''Thouinidium'' (family Sapindaceae, 1878) from Mexico and Central America, are both named after him. As a taxonomist, he described at least 15 new ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edme-Louis Daubenton
Edme-Louis Daubenton (12 August 1730 – 12 December 1785) was a French naturalist. Daubenton was the cousin of another French naturalist, Louis Jean-Marie Daubenton. Georges-Louis Leclerc, the Comte de Buffon engaged Edme-Louis Daubenton to supervise the coloured illustrations for the monumental ''Histoire Naturelle'' (1749–89). The ''Planches enluminée'' started to appear in 1765 and finally counted 1,008 plates, all engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet (1731–1800), and all painted by hand. The Parisian publisher Panckoucke published a version without text between 1765 and 1783. More than 80 artists took part in the realization of the original paintings. 973 plates relate to birds; others illustrate especially butterflies but also other insects, corals, etc. The illustrations were not very successful, but they allow a rather good determination of the species illustrated, some of them now extinct. As Buffon did not follow the system of biological nomenclature developed b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Georges-Louis Leclerc De Buffon
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (; 7 September 1707 – 16 April 1788) was a French naturalist, mathematician, cosmologist, and encyclopédiste. His works influenced the next two generations of naturalists, including two prominent French scientists Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Georges Cuvier. Buffon published thirty-six quarto volumes of his ''Histoire Naturelle'' during his lifetime, with additional volumes based on his notes and further research being published in the two decades following his death. Ernst Mayr wrote that "Truly, Buffon was the father of all thought in natural history in the second half of the 18th century".Mayr, Ernst 1981. ''The Growth of Biological Thought''. Cambridge: Harvard. p 330 Credited with being one of the first naturalists to recognize ecological succession, he was later forced by the theology committee at the University of Paris to recant his theories about geological history and animal evolution because they contradicted the Biblical na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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