Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle (; 15 June 1746 – 18 August 1800) was an 18th-century French botanist and civil servant. Born into an affluent upper-class

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. S ...

ian family, connections with the French Royal Court secured him the position of Superintendent of Parisian Waters and Forests at the age of twenty-six. In this capacity, L'Héritier conducted various studies of native trees and shrubs, also gaining interest in exotic flora. The abbreviation L'Herit. is also used.

Early life

Apart from what is stated above, little is known of his early life before his first employment. He appears to have been self-taught in botany, after taking up the superintendency. In 1775 L'Héritier was appointed a magistrate in the ''

Cour des Aides The Courts of Aids (French: ''Cours des aides'') were sovereign courts in ''Ancien Régime'' France, primarily concerned with customs, but also other matters of public finance. They exercised some control over certain excise taxes and octroi dutie ...

'' in Paris. This was a court which dealt with tax offences, but under its president Malesherbes it became perhaps the only French government institution to protect ordinary citizens against a corrupt state. Malesherbes himself was a keen botanist, but in the same year (1775) he was forced out of office because he published a scheme to reform the tax system. Also in 1775, L'Héritier married Thérèse-Valère Doré. They had five children in the 19 years until Thérèse-Valère died. With his private wealth and public income, L'Héritier was enabled to pursue his botanical interests as a wealthy amateur. He was a strict follower of the

Linnaean system Linnaean taxonomy can mean either of two related concepts: # The particular form of biological classification (taxonomy) set up by Carl Linnaeus, as set forth in his '' Systema Naturae'' (1735) and subsequent works. In the taxonomy of Linnaeus ...

of plant classification. The most influential French botanists of the time - Jussieu, Adanson and others - advocated a more natural system of classification, meaning beauty. L'Héritier soon clashed with them, although he was friends with other scholars such as

Georges Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier ...

Pierre Marie Auguste Broussonet Pierre Marie Auguste Broussonet (28 February 1761 – 17 January 1807) was a French naturalist who contributed primarily to botany. He was born in Montpellier, where he was educated, and travelled to Morocco, Spain, the Canary Islands, and South ...

and

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 ...

. Through these contacts, he corresponded with other botanists such as

Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James ...

and

James Edward Smith James Edward Smith may refer to: * James Edward Smith (botanist), English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society * James Edward Smith (murderer), American murderer * James Edward Smith (politician), Canadian businessman and mayor of Toronto * ...

, in the Linnaean stronghold of England. Around 1783 he conceived the idea of publishing papers on new plant species. To Banks he wrote: "I am still keeping my project secret, in order that this type of work cannot be claimed by our professors" and it is said that he had paid informers among the professional gardeners of Paris in order to be alerted whenever a new species came into flower. Such was the rivalry among botanists at that time, to be able to publish a new species first. The first fascicle (volume) of ''Stirpes Novae'' (New Plants) came out in March 1785, the second in January 1786, a third in March 1786. Other fascicles made an appearance in 1788 and later. These were published at his own expense, like almost all his botanical works, and included a full-page plate illustrating each new species. From the second volume on, the plates were drawn by

Pierre-Joseph Redouté Pierre-Joseph Redouté (, 10 July 1759 – 19 June 1840), was a painter and botanist from Belgium, known for his watercolours of roses, lilies and other flowers at the Château de Malmaison, many of which were published as large, coloured ...

, who later gave L'Héritier the credit for starting him on his career and fame.

The Dombey Affair

Joseph Dombey Joseph Dombey (Mâcon, France, 20 February 1742 – Montserrat, West Indies, May 1794) was a French botanist. He was involved in the "Dombey affair" which was precipitated by British seizure of a vessel his collections were on and diversion of th ...

, a young French adventurer, was given permission by the Spanish government to collect botanical specimens in its South American colonies, under strict conditions; in particular, half the collection was to be given to Spain. That half was lost to Spain when the British captured the ship carrying it, more was lost by delays in customs at Cadiz, and by the time Dombey reached Paris his collection was very much reduced. French botanists considered that its new species should be published (without waiting for Spanish botanists to do so), which was against the conditions imposed by Spain. L'Héritier offered to describe and publish at his own expense, and the collection was handed over to him in 1786. The Spanish government objected, and requested the remaining collection be remitted to them, which the French government agreed to do. However, L'Héritier was at court at Versailles when the decision was given. He immediately hurried home, packed the collection and left post-haste for England, while giving it out that he had gone to his country-house on holiday. He stayed in and around London for 15 months, until things had quietened down. On his return to Paris he published (in 1789) ''Sertum Anglicum'' (An English Garland) which included some of the Dombey plants (but they were outnumbered by new species he found being cultivated in England). The Dombey collection remained in his herbarium until his death.

French Revolution

As a magistrate of a respected court, and holding liberal political ideas himself, L'Héritier was at first not at risk when the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

began in 1789. He was one of few former magistrates to be appointed judge of a revolutionary tribunal. In October 1789, he was even appointed commander of his district's National Guard. Acting under his orders, his troops prevented the massacre of the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

's bodyguard when the Parisian mob removed the

from

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

to Paris. In 1790 he was elected to the Academy of Sciences as an associate member in spite of

de Jussieu De Jussieu, the name of a French family which came into prominence towards the close of the sixteenth century, and was known for a century and a half for the botanists it produced. The following are its more eminent members: *Antoine de Jussieu (1 ...

, Adanson and

Lamarck Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, chevalier de Lamarck (1 August 1744 – 18 December 1829), often known simply as Lamarck (; ), was a French naturalist, biologist, academic, and soldier. He was an early proponent of the idea that biolog ...

voting against him. During this phase of the revolution he continued to publish botanical papers. In late 1792, however, the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, ...

began and it is said that L'Héritier was imprisoned for a time, and in danger of execution, but some of his botanist friends got him released; there is no independent confirmation of this. Certainly his former patron, Malesherbes, went to the guillotine. About the time the Reign of Terror of ended in 1794, L'Héritier's wife Thérèse-Valère died. The eldest son, Jacques, left home and seems to have become estranged; the eldest daughter went to live with another family, while L'Héritier and his servants cared for the youngest three (Rose, the youngest, was only two at this time but lived to the age of 99). L'Héritier did not remarry.

Post-Revolution

L'Héritier was ruined by the Revolution, and had to take a low paid job at the Justice ministry, although he was also a member of the Commission on Agriculture and the Arts and was involved in the publication of several agricultural reports. In 1795 the Academy of Sciences was reborn as the National Institute of Sciences and Arts, and L'Héritier was elected to full membership, which came with a decent salary. He still had his library and herbarium, which he allowed free use to young botanists such as

de Candolle Augustin Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (, , ; 4 February 17789 September 1841) was a Swiss botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched de Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at a herbarium. Within a couple of years de Candolle ...

. On the evening of 16 August 1800, as he was walking home after working late at the Institute, he was attacked and murdered in the street by an unknown assailant. One rumour was that the assassin was his eldest son. His body now lies in the

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (french: Cimetière du Père-Lachaise ; formerly , "East Cemetery") is the largest cemetery in Paris, France (). With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Notable figures ...

. He left a

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (called ...

of approximately 8,000 species and a large botanic library, reputedly second only to that of

Sir Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James C ...

. The herbarium was added to the French national collections, while the library was dispersed.

Character

said of him: "His works were superb, but his table frugal and his clothes simple. He spent 20,000 francs a year on botany, but went about on foot."

said: "He was a dry man, cold in appearance but actually quite passionate, acrimonious and sarcastic in conversation, given to small intrigues, a declared enemy of

, de Lamarck and even of the new methods, but always doing for me acts of kindness for which I was grateful." He always refused to have any portrait made.Stafleu, p. xiii.

Works

''Stirpes Novae aut minus cognitae, quas descriptionibus et iconibus illustravit...'' Paris, ex typographia Philippi-Dionysii Pierres (1784) - (1791) - on line, Gallica
* (Published in parts, 1789-1793, although title page says 1788: see Stafleu's essay, cited in Further Reading).
''Geraniologia, seu Erodii, Pelargonii, Geranii, Monsoniae et Grieli, Historia iconibus illustrata,'' Parisii, Typo Petri-Francisci Didot (1787-1788; 1792); plates
by

on line.
''Cornus: specimen botanicum sistens descriptiones et icones specierum corni minus cognitarum,'' Parisiis, Typis Petri-Francisci Didot, (1788). MGB Library, on Line.
* "Mémoire sur un nouveau genre de plants appelé Cadia", ''Magasin encyclopédique,'' (1795)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lheritier De Brutelle, Charles Louis 1746 births 1800 deaths 18th-century French botanists Members of the French Academy of Sciences