Théodore Lacordaire or Jean Théodore Lacordaire (1 February 1801 – 18 July 1870) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

of French extraction. In spite of his obvious interest in natural history, his family sent him to

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 ...

to study "le droit", or the law. In 1824, he embarked for

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

where he became a commercial salesman. He traveled widely in South America using every opportunity to carry out many observations on local

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

Georges Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier ...

suggested he come to Paris in 1830. There he met

Pierre André Latreille Pierre André Latreille (; 29 November 1762 – 6 February 1833) was a French zoologist, specialising in arthropods. Having trained as a Roman Catholic priest before the French Revolution, Latreille was imprisoned, and only regained his freedom ...

Jean Victoire Audouin Jean Victor Audouin (27 April 1797 – 9 November 1841), sometimes Victor Audouin, was a French natural history, naturalist, an entomologist, Herpetology, herpetologist, ornithologist, and malacologist. Biography Audouin was born in Paris and was ...

, and

André Marie Constant Duméril André Marie Constant Duméril (1 January 1774 – 14 August 1860) was a French zoologist. He was professor of anatomy at the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle from 1801 to 1812, when he became professor of herpetology and ichthyology. His ...

and took part in the foundation of the

Société Entomologique de France The Société entomologique de France, or French Entomological Society, is devoted to the study of insects. The society was founded in 1832 in Paris, France. The society was created by eighteen Parisian entomologists on January 31, 1832. The first ...

. He went to

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

at the end of 1830 to collect natural history specimens, returning to France in 1832. In 1835, he became professor of zoology at the

University of Liège The University of Liège (french: Université de Liège), or ULiège, is a major public university of the French Community of Belgium based in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. Its official language is French. As of 2020, ULiège is ranked in the 301 ...

where he succeeded Henri-Maurice Gaède (1795–1834). In 1837, he became also professor of

comparative anatomy Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the anatomy of different species. It is closely related to evolutionary biology and phylogeny (the evolution of species). The science began in the classical era, continuing in t ...

. He occupied himself actively with the collections of zoology of the natural history museum of the university from his nomination and greatly enriched it. On his death, the natural history museum included a collection of 12,000 species, with beautiful series of

ornithology Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

and

ichthyology Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octob ...

. From 1834 to 1838, he published ''Introduction à l'entomologie, comprenant les principes généraux de l'anatomie et de la physiologie des insectes, (Introduction to entomology, including the general principles of the anatomy and the physiology of the insects)'' in three volumes. In 1835, he published ''Faune entomologique des environs de Paris (Entomological fauna of the district surrounding of Paris)''. But his best work is ''Histoire naturelle des insectes, ″Genera″ des Coléoptères'' (1854–1876), an immense work of 13 volumes which his death brought to a close. This work was eventually finished by

Félicien Chapuis Félicien Chapuis (29 April 1824 – 30 September 1879) was a Belgian doctor and entomologist. He specialised in Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wing ...

. Lacordaire was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 1856. In 1868, he was elected a foreign member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...

. One of his three brothers,

Jean-Baptiste Henri Lacordaire Jean-Baptiste Henri-Dominique Lacordaire (12 May 1802 – 21 November 1861), often styled Henri-Dominique Lacordaire, was a French ecclesiastic, preacher, journalist, theologian and political activist. He re-established the Dominican Order in p ...

, was a Dominican priest and an important liberal Catholic polemicist.

References

* Translated from French Wikipedia Théodore Lacordaire {{DEFAULTSORT:Lacordaire, Jean Theodore 1801 births 1870 deaths People from Côte-d'Or 19th-century Belgian scientists Belgian entomologists Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences