André Thouin (10 February 1747 – 24 October 1824) was a French

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

. Thouin studied botany under

Bernard de Jussieu Bernard de Jussieu (; 17 August 1699 – 6 November 1777) was a French naturalist, younger brother of Antoine de Jussieu. Bernard de Jussieu was born in Lyon. He took a medical degree at Montpellier and began practice in 1720, but finding the wo ...

, and in 1793 attained the chair of

horticulture Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

at the

Muséum national d'histoire naturelle The French National Museum of Natural History ( ; abbr. MNHN) is the national natural history museum of France and a of higher education part of Sorbonne University. The main museum, with four galleries, is located in Paris, France, within the Ja ...

in Paris. He was a good friend of U.S. President

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

, and the godfather of Jean Baptiste Lamarck's son Andre. He is remembered for contributions made in the field of

agronomy Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...

, including scientific studies that involved improved

grafting Grafting or graftage is a horticulture, horticultural technique whereby tissues of plants are joined so as to continue their growth together. The upper part of the combined plant is called the scion () while the lower part is called the roots ...

techniques and seed selection. He played an important role in the reshaping of Natural History in France during the revolution. He was sent by Napoleon to confiscate natural history specimens from museums and collections in the countries that Napoleon had conquered. 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 The Sapindaceae are a family (biology), family of flowering plants in the order Sapindales known as the soapberry family. It contains 138 genera and 1,858 accepted species. Examples include Aesculus, horse chestnut, maples, ackee and lychee. The ...

, 1804) from Central and South America, and '' Thouinidium'' (family

, 1878) from Mexico and Central America, are both named after him. As a taxonomist, he described at least 15 new species. Most have been degraded to synonyms. Thouin supervised Elisabeth Julienne Pommereul in her work at the ''Jardin du Roi.''

Selected publications

* ''Description de l'École d'agriculture pratique du Muséum d'histoire naturelle'', (1814). * ''Manuel d'arboriculture. Manuel illustré de la culture, de la taille et de la greffe des arbres fruitiers''. * ''Monographie des greffes, ou Description technique des diverses sortes de greffes employées pour la multiplication des végétaux'', (1821). * ''Traite des arbres forestiers :ou histoire et description des arbres indigenes ou naturalises... /par M. Jaume Saint-Hilaire. Ouvrage precede d'une instruction sur la culture des arbres'', (1824). * ''Cours de culture et de naturalisation des végétaux'', (1827).

References

External links

* 1746 births 1824 deaths Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Botanists with author abbreviations 19th-century French botanists Members of the French Academy of Sciences Scientists from Paris 18th-century French botanists {{France-botanist-stub