Dominique Alexandre Godron (25 March 1807 - 16 August 1880) was a French physician, botanist,

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althoug ...

and

speleologist Speleology is the scientific study of caves and other karst features, as well as their make-up, structure, physical properties, history, life forms, and the processes by which they form ( speleogenesis) and change over time (speleomorphology) ...

born in the town of

Hayange Hayange (; german: Hayingen; Lorraine Franconian: ''Héngen''/''Haiéngen'') is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Outlying villages include Marspich and Saint-Nicolas-en-Forêt, Konacker and Ranguevaux. H ...

, in the ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

'' Moselle. Godron studied medicine at the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. The French university traces its history to the ea ...

, and during his career distinguished himself in

natural sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

as well as in the field of medicine. In 1854 he became dean and professor of natural history to the Faculty of Sciences at Nancy. Here he established a natural history museum and reorganized its

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

(now the '' Jardin Dominique Alexandre Godron'', renamed in his honor). Among his numerous writings were a publication on the flora of the

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...

region of France called "''Flore de Lorraine''" (1843), and the three-volume "''Flore de France''", a work on flora native to France and Corsica that was co-written with botanist

Jean Charles Marie Grenier Jean Charles Marie Grenier (1808–1875) was a French botanist and naturalist who was a professor to the Faculty of Sciences at Besançon. In 1836 he received his doctorate in medicine, followed by his degree in sciences in 1844. At Besançon, h ...

(1808-1875). In addition to his botanical works, he published a number of studies in the field of

ethnology Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). ...

. Before Mendel, he discovered the main features of hybridation. In "''de l'Espece et des races dans les êtres organises''" he also demonstrated that hybridization in the vegetal world was, against the dominant thinking at the time, similar to hybridization in the animal world. He finally demonstrated the unity of mankind in his book dedicated to our species. In 1846, he was honoured by botanists Jean Baptiste Mougeot and Joseph Henri Léveillé who named ''

Godronia ''Godronia'' is a genus of fungi in the family Helotiaceae. The genus contains 27 species. The genus name of ''Godronia'' is in honour of Dominique Alexandre Godron Dominique Alexandre Godron (25 March 1807 - 16 August 1880) was a French physic ...

'', which is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

in the family

Helotiaceae The Helotiaceae are a family of fungi in the order Helotiales. The distribution of species in the family are widespread, and typically found in tropical areas. There are 117 genera and 826 species in the family. A question mark after the genus ...

. Then in 1927,

William Webster Diehl William Webster Diehl (January 15, 1891 – 1978) was an American mycologist recognized for his work on grass pathogens, particularly in the genus '' Balansia''. Diehl was born in on January 15, 1891 in Logansport, Indiana to parents Edwin Randal ...

and

Edith Katherine Cash Edith Katherine Cash (October 14, 1890 – April 6, 1992) was an American mycologist and lichenologist. Early life Edith Cash was born in Binghamton, New York, to John Ferris Cash and Adella Knapp Cash. She graduated from George Washington Univ ...

published ''

Godroniopsis ''Godroniopsis'' is a genus of fungi in the family Helotiaceae. The genus contains two species. The genus name of ''Godroniopsis'' is in honour of Dominique Alexandre Godron Dominique Alexandre Godron (25 March 1807 - 16 August 1880) was a Fren ...

'', which is also a genus of fungi in the family Helotiaceae.

References

Biography of Dominique Alexandre Godron
(translated from French). French naturalists 1807 births 1880 deaths Members of the French Academy of Sciences People from Hayange 19th-century French botanists 19th-century French physicians {{France-botanist-stub