Count Hippolyte François Jaubert (28 October 1798 – 5 December 1874) was a French politician and botanist. Jaubert was born 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 ...

, the son of François Hippolyte Jaubert (a commissioner of the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

, killed at the Battle of the Nile in 1798) and Rosalie Mélanie Cheminade (a landowner at Givry, in the commune of

Cours-les-Barres Cours-les-Barres () is a commune in the Cher department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France. Geography An area of farming and forestry comprising a village and several hamlets situated by the banks of both the Loire and the Loire latera ...

in the department of Cher, who died in 1817). He was adopted by his uncle, Count François Jaubert (1758–1822), Councilor of State and governor of the Bank of France under the

First Empire First Empire may refer to: * First British Empire, sometimes used to describe the British Empire between 1583 and 1783 * First Bulgarian Empire (680–1018) *First French Empire (1804–1814/1815) * First German Empire or "First Reich", sometimes u ...

. Although Jaubert was passionate about natural history, his uncle made him study law, while allowing him to study with

René Desfontaines René (''Born again (Christianity), born again'' or ''reborn'' in French language, French) is a common given name, first name in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and German-speaking countries. It derives from the Latin name Renatus. René is th ...

(1750–1831) and Antoine-Laurent de Jussieu (1748–1836). He was called to the bar in 1821, but shortly afterwards his uncle died, Jaubert inheriting the title of CountConfirmed by letters patent on 9 March 1826. and an immense fortune. With this money he was able to buy large landholdings in Berry, ten blast furnaces in the departments of

Nièvre Nièvre () is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, central-east France. Named after the river Nièvre, it had a population of 204,452 in 2019.Cher (where his mother's family originated), and become director of the

Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans Chemin or Le Chemin may refer to: Arts and media * ''Le chemin'' (Emmanuel Moire album), 2013 album by French singer Emmanuel Moire * ''Le chemin'' (Kyo album), 2003 album by French band Kyo ** "Le Chemin" (song), title song from same-titled Kyo ...

(Paris–Orléans railway company), all the while concentrating on botany and politics. He married Marie Boigues (died 1864), sister of Louis Boigues, a manufacturer at Imphy and founder of the town of

Fourchambault Fourchambault () is a commune in the Nièvre department in central France. Geography Fourchambault lies on the right, eastern bank of the river Loire, about 7 km northwest of Nevers. Fourchambault station has rail connections to Nevers, ...

. They had two children: * Louis Hippolyte Francois Jaubert, who became prefect of the department of

Sarthe Sarthe () is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, and the province of Maine, situated in the '' Grand-Ouest'' of the country. It is named after the river Sarthe, which flows from east of Le Mans to just north of Angers. It ha ...

; * Claire Mélanie Jaubert, who became by her marriage Countess Benoist d'Azy. In 1821 Jaubert toured

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label= Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Au ...

and

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

with his friend

Victor Jacquemont Venceslas Victor Jacquemont (8 August 1801 – 7 December 1832) was a French botanist and geologist known for his travels in India. Born in Paris on August 8, 1801, Victor Jacquemont was the youngest of four sons of Frédéric François Venceslas ...

(1801–1832), studying the flora and geology of those regions. That same year, together with

Karl Sigismund Kunth Carl Sigismund Kunth (18 June 1788 – 22 March 1850), also Karl Sigismund Kunth or anglicized as Charles Sigismund Kunth, was a German botanist. He is known for being one of the first to study and categorise plants from the American continents, ...

(1788–1850), Adolphe Brongniart (1801–1876),

Adrien-Henri de Jussieu Adrien-Henri de Jussieu (23 December 1797 – 29 June 1853) was a French botanist. Born in Paris as the son of botanist Antoine Laurent de Jussieu, he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1824 with a treatise of the plant family Eupho ...

(1797–1853),

Jean Baptiste Antoine Guillemin Jean Baptiste Antoine Guillemin (20 January 1796 in Pouilly-sur-Saône – 15 January 1842 in Montpellier) was a French botanist. He studied at the municipal college in Seurre, where he was considered one of the most distinguished pupils. U ...

(1796–1842) and Achille Richard (1794–1852), he founded the short-lived Natural History Society of Paris, which financed an expedition to Asia of several naturalists, among them Pierre Martin Rémi Aucher-Éloy (1793–1838). He joined the ''conseil général'' of Cher in 1830, and became its president. He entered national politics at the time of the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...

of 1830, and was elected six times to the

Chamber of Deputies of France Chamber of Deputies (french: Chambre des députés) was a parliamentary body in France in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries: * 1814–1848 during the Bourbon Restoration and the July Monarchy, the Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of ...

, from 1831 to 1842. Initially close to the

Doctrinaires During the Bourbon Restoration (1814–1830) and the July Monarchy (1830–1848), the Doctrinals (french: doctrinaires) were a group of French royalists who hoped to reconcile the monarchy with the French Revolution and power with liberty. Hea ...

, he quickly attached himself to prime minister Adolphe Thiers, and served in the latter's second administration as

Minister of Public Works This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

from 1 March to 28 October 1840. During this period, the conservative deputy for

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, ...

, Ovide de Rémilly, put forward an old proposal of the Left, that members of the Chamber of Deputies should be forbidden from accepting salaried public positions during their term of service. This was a proposal that Thiers himself had supported while in opposition, so to avoid a display of public hypocrisy, Thiers sent Jaubert to negotiate for its deferment. Jaubert was hostile to this reform, and wrote to a number of conservative deputies asking them to help bury the proposal. One of Jaubert's letters was leaked to the press, causing an outcry on the Left and questions in the Chamber. However, the operation was successful and the proposition was rejected by the deputies on 15 June 1840. Following the general election of 9 July 1842 Jaubert was briefly in opposition to the government, and voted against the indemnity proposed by François Guizot to be paid to Britain in compensation for the imprisonment of the missionary George Pritchard in

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austra ...

. He was appointed to the

Peerage of France The Peerage of France (french: Pairie de France) was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 in the Middle Ages. The prestigious title and position of Peer of France (french: Pair de France, links=no) was ...

on 27 November 1844. He took no part in the

Revolution of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europe ...

, and under the

Second Empire Second Empire may refer to: * Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783 * Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396) * Second French Empire (1852–1870) ** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...

, he withdrew from political life, devoting himself to botany and business. He was elected to the French Academy of Sciences in 1858, and was among the founders of the Botanical Society of France in 1854. Following the collapse of the Second Empire in 1870 and the creation of the Third Republic, Jaubert was elected representative of Cher in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

on 8 February 1871. From that date until his death at Montpellier in 1874, he devoted himself almost entirely to politics. He joined the Orléanist parliamentary group, ''Centre droit''. Using the herbarium that he collected and those of the

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...

, and with the help of

Édouard Spach Édouard Spach (23 November 1801 – 18 May 1879) was a French botanist. The son of a merchant in Strasbourg, in 1824 he went to Paris, where he studied botany with René Desfontaines (1750–1831) and Antoine-Laurent de Jussieu (1748–1836). H ...

(1801–1879), he published his ''Illustrationes plantarum orientalium'' ("illustrations of plants of the east"; five volumes; Roret, Paris, 1842–1857). He was decorated Chevalier of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

on 27 April 1830.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaubert, Hippolyte Francois 1798 births 1874 deaths Scientists from Paris Politicians from Paris Orléanists French Ministers of Public Works Members of the 2nd Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 3rd Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 4th Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 5th Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 6th Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the Chamber of Peers of the July Monarchy Members of the National Assembly (1871) 19th-century French botanists Members of the French Academy of Sciences Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur