Bernard Heuvelmans (10 October 1916 – 22 August 2001) was a
Belgian-
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
scientist, explorer, researcher, and writer probably best known, along with Scottish-American biologist
Ivan T. Sanderson, as a founding figure in the pseudoscience and subculture of
cryptozoology
Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience and subculture that searches for and studies unknown, legendary, or extinct animals whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated, particularly those popular in folklore, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness ...
.
His 1958 book ''
On the Track of Unknown Animals'' (originally published in French in 1955 as ''Sur la Piste des Bêtes Ignorées'') is often regarded as one of the most influential cryptozoology texts.
Life
Heuvelmans was born on 10 October 1916 in
Le Havre
Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...
, France, and raised in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
and earned a
doctorate
A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...
in
zoology
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, an ...
from the
Free University of Brussels (now split into the
Université Libre de Bruxelles and the
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) () is a Dutch and English-speaking research university located in Brussels, Belgium.The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is one of the five universities officially recognised by the Flemish government. listof all ...
). Heuvelmans was a pupil of
Serge Frechkop, a proponent of the Theory of Initial Bipedalism. In 1939, his doctoral dissertation concerned the teeth of the
aardvark
The aardvark ( ; ''Orycteropus afer'') is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa. It is the only living species of the order Tubulidentata, although other prehistoric species and genera of Tubulidentata are known. Unlik ...
. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
he had escaped from a Nazi prison camp and later worked as a jazz singer in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
.
[Miller John. (2015). ''Zooheterotopias'' In John Miller; Mariangela Palladino. ''The Globalization of Space: Foucault and Heterotopia.'' Routledge. pp. 149-164. ]
Heuvelmans' books made reference to literary sources. He was influenced by
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the '' Voyages extra ...
and
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
's book ''
The Lost World'' (1912).
Though earlier interested in zoological oddities, he credits a 1948 ''
Saturday Evening Post
''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely ...
'' article, "There Could be Dinosaurs" by
Ivan T. Sanderson, with inspiring a determined interest in unknown animals. Sanderson discussed the possibility of
dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
s surviving in remote corners of the world. Heuvelmans was also influenced by the work of
Anthonie Cornelis Oudemans, who had defended the existence of the
sea serpent
A sea serpent or sea dragon is a type of dragon sea monster described in various mythologies, most notably Mesopotamian ( Tiamat), Judaeo-Christian (Leviathan), Greek (Cetus, Echidna, Hydra, Scylla), and Norse ( Jörmungandr).
Mythology and f ...
.
Heuvelmans wrote many other books and articles, only a few of which have been translated into English. His works sold well among general audiences but saw little attention from mainstream scientists and experts. ''In the Wake of the Sea-Serpents'' was his second book; it was translated into English and sold in the United States in 1968. It consisted of his book on
sea serpents
A sea serpent or sea dragon is a type of dragon sea monster described in various mythologies, most notably Mesopotamian ( Tiamat), Judaeo-Christian ( Leviathan), Greek ( Cetus, Echidna, Hydra, Scylla), and Norse ( Jörmungandr).
Mythology and ...
with parts of his book on the
giant squid
The giant squid (''Architeuthis dux'') is a species of deep-ocean dwelling squid in the family Architeuthidae. It can grow to a tremendous size, offering an example of abyssal gigantism: recent estimates put the maximum size at around Tra ...
(and
gigantic octopus
The kraken () is a legendary sea monster of enormous size said to appear off the coasts of Norway.
Kraken, the subject of sailors' superstitions and mythos, was first described in the modern age at the turn of the 18th century, in a travelog ...
es) added. As he continued his research, he saw the need to "give a name to the totally new discipline in zoology my research implied. That is how I coined the word 'cryptozoology', the science of hidden animals".
There is evidence that Heuvelmans planned to author a third book on fresh-water cryptozoology, but instead he assisted
Irish author
Peter Costello
Peter Howard Costello (born 14 August 1957) is an Australian businessman, lawyer and former politician who served as the treasurer of Australia in government of John Howard from 1996 to 2007. He is the longest-serving treasurer in Austral ...
to produce his 1974 book ''In Search of Lake Monsters'', providing source material from his files.
Science writer
David Quammen
David Quammen (born February 24, 1948) is an American science, nature, and travel writer and the author of fifteen books. His articles have appeared in ''Outside Magazine'', '' National Geographic'', '' Harper's'', '' Rolling Stone'', ''The New ...
has stated that Heuvelmans's ''On the Track of Unknown Animals'' is "heavily researched and encyclopedic" but contains "leaps of credulity that leave a skeptical reader behind." He also wrote that Heuvelmans was known for making "overstated claims".
His book ''The Natural History of Hidden Animals'' (published posthumously) was heavily criticized. Biologist Aaron Bauer noted that "Heuvelmans's own writings, this book included, often eschew critical analysis of available data".
John Burton has written that the book's "credibility is seriously undermined by sloppy research".
[Burton, John]
"Book Review: The Natural History of Hidden Animals"
. World Land Trust. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
Heuvelmans's wife was the novelist and artist
Monique Watteau; she was also the main illustrator of his books.
They divorced in 1961,
but remained friends and colleagues.
[
Heuvelmans eventually converted to ]Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
.[ He died on 22 August 2001 at the age of 84.
]
Books
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* Abridged, revised.
*
* (with Boris F. Porchnev)
* Second Edition.
* Second Edition.
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* (ed. Peter Gwynvay Hopkins)
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References
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External links
Obituary
by Loren Coleman
Unknown Explorers
Biography
The Centre for Fortean Zoology
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heuvelmans, Bernard
1916 births
2001 deaths
Writers from Le Havre
Cryptozoologists
French expatriates in Belgium
Free University of Brussels (1834–1969) alumni
Fortean writers