Denis Dodart was a French

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

, naturalist, and botanist who was born in 1634 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

and died on November 5, 1707 in the same city.

Biography

Childhood and humanist education

Denis Dodart was born in 1634 in a Parisian middle class family that belonged to the '' bourgeoisie''. He was a son of Jean Dodart, notary public with a passion for

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

, and Marie Dubois, daughter of a lawyer at the

Parlement of Paris The Parliament of Paris (french: Parlement de Paris) was the oldest ''parlement'' in the Kingdom of France, formed in the 14th century. It was fixed in Paris by Philip IV of France in 1302. The Parliament of Paris would hold sessions inside the ...

. He was interested in art and science since young age. He was taught

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

, and drawing. Fontenelle mentioned in his ''Éloge of Monsieur Dodart'' the library of the Dodart family. He studied at the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

and gained his

Doctorate of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. ...

on 13 October 1660. Denis Dodart was noticed for his erudition, his good eloquency, being open minded. He is described by

Guy Patin Guy (or Guido) Patin (1601 in Hodenc-en-Bray, Oise – 30 August 1672 in Paris) was a French doctor and man of letters. Patin was doyen (or dean) of the Faculty of Medicine in Paris (1650–1652) and professor in the Collège de France starti ...

, dean of the University in a private letter : ''"Ce jourd'hui ic5 Juillet (1660) nous avons fait la Licence de nos vieux Bacheliers, ils sont 7 en nombre, dont celui qui est le plus fécond, nommé Dodart, âgé de 25 ans, est un des plus sage & des plus fçavans ichommes homme de ce Siècle Ce jeune homme est un prodige de sagesse 6 de science monstrum sin vitio, comme disait Adr. Turnebus de Josepho Scaligero."'' He adds in another letter ''"Notre Licentié icqui est si fçavant, s'appelle Dodart. il est le fils d'un Bourgeois de Paris, fort honnête homme. C'est un grand garçon, fort sage, fort modeste, qui sait Hipocrate, Galien, Aristote,

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

n, Sénèque, & Fernel par coeur. C'est un garçon incomparable, qui n'a pas 26 ans, car la Faculté lui fit grace au premier Examen de quelaues mois qui lui manquait pour son âge, sur la bonne opinion qu'on avait de lui dés auparavant."'' In 1666 he gained the Doctor of Pharmacy title.

Physician of Conti family and Port-Royal

He was elected to the French Academy of Sciences in 1673. In

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

he is notable for his early studies of plant respiration and growth. He collaborated with the French engraver

Nicolas Robert Nicolas Robert (18 April 1614 – 25 March 1685) was a French miniaturist and engraver. He was born in Langres and died in Paris. In 1664 he was appointed as "peintre ordinaire de Sa Majesté pur la miniature" (Painter of Miniatures) to Lo ...

in several illustrated works includin
Estampes de Plantes
an
Mémoires pour servir á l'Histoire des Plantes
His father Jean Dodart was a Parisian notary and his mother Marie Dubois was the daughter of a lawyer. Suspicion that his parents, like many from the legal professions, had been supporters of the

Fronde The Fronde () was a series of civil wars in France between 1648 and 1653, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. King Louis XIV confronted the combined opposition of the princes, the nobility, the law cour ...

uprising nearly derailed his election to the Academy of Sciences. Though most of his writings are about botany and medicine, he was also interested in music. He intended to write a history of music but did not complete it. His main extant contribution was the essay about the physical characteristics and qualities of the human voice ''Mémoire sur les causes de la voix de l'homme, et de ses différens tons'', published in the ''Mémoires de l'Académie royale des sciences'' (1700; pp. 244–93) and published separately in 1703. He also added ''suppléments'' in the ''Mémoires'' for 1706 (pp. 136–48, 388–410) and 1707 (pp. 66–81).

Eponymy

The

nettle {{redirect, Nettle Nettle refers to plants with stinging hairs, particularly those of the genus '' Urtica''. It can also refer to plants which resemble ''Urtica'' species in appearance but do not have stinging hairs. Plants called "nettle" includ ...

species '' Urtica dodartii'' was named after him by Linnaeus but this is now considered a variety of '' Urtica pilulifera'', the Roman nettle (''U. pilulifera'' L. var. ''dodartii'' (L.) Aschers.).

Major works

References

External links

* Bernard Le Bouyer de Fontenelle
''Éloge de M. Dodart'' (1707)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodart, Denis Botanists with author abbreviations French naturalists Members of the French Academy of Sciences 1634 births 1707 deaths