Gontran Georges Henri Hamel (1883–1944) was a French phycologist. In 1927 he earned his doctorate 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 ...

with a thesis on the

red algae Red algae, or Rhodophyta (, ; ), are one of the oldest groups of eukaryotic algae. The Rhodophyta also comprises one of the largest phyla of algae, containing over 7,000 currently recognized species with taxonomic revisions ongoing. The majority ...

genera '' Acrochaetium'' and ''

Rhodochorton ''Rhodochorton'' is a genus of filamentous red alga adapted to low light levels. It may form tufts or a thin purple "turf" up to 5 millimetres high. The filaments branch infrequently, usually at the tips. Morphology In most species of ''Rhodoch ...

''. He is known for research performed in the "Laboratoire de Cryptogamie" at the

Museum d'Histoire Naturelle The French National Museum of Natural History, known in French as the ' (abbreviation MNHN), is the national natural history museum of France and a ' of higher education part of Sorbonne Universities. The main museum, with four galleries, is loc ...

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 ...

. He reportedly died while trying to reach Paris by bicycle prior to its

liberation Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

in August 1944.BHL
Taxonomic literature : a selective guide to botanical publications In 1924 with Pierre Allorge (1891–1944), he was co-founder of the journal ''Revue algologique''. He was also a contributor to the exsiccatae series ''Algues de France''. In 1942 Frederik Børgesen named the

brown algae Brown algae (singular: alga), comprising the class Phaeophyceae, are a large group of multicellular algae, including many seaweeds located in colder waters within the Northern Hemisphere. Brown algae are the major seaweeds of the temperate and po ...

genus ''Hamelella'' (family

Chordariaceae Chordariaceae is a family of brown algae. Members of this family are may be filamentous, crustose with fused cells at the base, or they may be terete and differentiated into a central medulla and an outer photosynthetic cortex. They have a spor ...

) in his honor. Also, the red algae species ''

Lithothamnion ''Lithothamnion'' is a genus of thalloid red alga comprising 103 species. Its members are known by a number of common names.Recorded common names are griuán, maërl, punalevä-suku, stenhinna and maerl. The monomerous, crustose thalli are compos ...

hamelii'' is one of several species that bear his name.

Written works

* ''Recherches sur les genres Acrochaetium Naeg. et Rhodochorton Naeg.'', 1927. (doctoral thesis) * ''Chlorophycées des côtes française'', Revue algologique, 1928 -

Chlorophyceae The Chlorophyceae are one of the classes of green algae, distinguished mainly on the basis of ultrastructural morphology. They are usually green due to the dominance of pigments chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b. The chloroplast may be discoid, p ...

of coastal France. * ''Floridées de France'' Laboratoire de Cryptogamie, (1924–1933) - Florideae of France. * ''Phéophycées de France'', 1931–1939 -

Phaeophyceae Brown algae (singular: alga), comprising the class Phaeophyceae, are a large group of multicellular algae, including many seaweeds located in colder waters within the Northern Hemisphere. Brown algae are the major seaweeds of the temperate and po ...

of France. * ''Corallinacées de France et d'Afrique du Nord'' (with Paul Lemoine) -

Corallinaceae The Corallinaceae are one of the two extant Coralline families of red algae; they are differentiated from the morphologically similar Sporolithaceae by their formation of grouped sporangial chambers, clustered into sori. The Corallinoideae ...

of France and northern Africa.WorldCat Titles
Corallinacées de France et d'Afrique du Nord

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamel, Gontran French phycologists 20th-century French botanists 1883 births 1944 deaths French civilians killed in World War II World War II refugees