François Désiré Breton (1 May 1781,

Sainte-Rose, Guadeloupe Sainte-Rose is a commune in the department of Guadeloupe. It is the second largest commune of Guadeloupe, in terms of area, after Petit-Bourg. Sainte-Rose lies on the coast of the island of Basse-Terre. Population Education Public preschools ...

- 15 April 1820, Les Cayes,

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

) was a French naval officer.

Career

In 1800, aged 19, Breton departed

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 cl ...

on ''Géographe'' as an ensign First Class to take part in

Baudin expedition of 1800 to 1802 The Baudin expedition of 1800 to 1803 was a French expedition to map the coast of New Holland (now Australia). Nicolas Baudin was selected as leader in October 1800. The expedition started with two ships, '' Géographe'', captained by Baudin, and ...

. On 29 October 1801, at Timor, he transferred to ''Naturaliste''. Aboard, he was appreciated by ensign Henri de Freycinet, though Baudin himself labeled him "the most useless of all aboard, and that is saying something".Baudin, ''op. cit.'', p.293 In 1803, Breton served in the Indian Ocean, captaining the frigate ''Manche''.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Breton, Desire 1781 births 1820 deaths French Navy officers French sailors People from Sainte-Rose, Guadeloupe