Louis (Gabriel Abraam Samuel Jean) Secretan (15 September 1758 – 24 May 1839) was a Swiss lawyer, politician and

mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungus, fungi, including their genetics, genetic and biochemistry, biochemical properties, their Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and ethnomycology, their use to humans, including as a so ...

. He published ''Mycologie Suisse'' in 1833, though the names are not regarded as valid unless republished by other authors.

Rolf Singer Rolf Singer (June 23, 1906 – January 18, 1994) was a Germany, German-born mycologist and one of the most important Taxonomy (biology), taxonomists of gilled mushrooms (agarics) in the 20th century. After receiving his Ph.D. at the University ...

, Robert E. Machol. - “Are Secretan's fungus names valid?”,

Taxon In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

, vol. 26, No 2/3 (May, 1977), pp. 251-255 He was a member of the

Swiss Academy of Sciences The Swiss Academy of Sciences (SCNAT) is a Swiss national association founded in 1815.Mission
https://scn ...

Early life and career

Secretan was born on 15 September 1758 in

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

to Pierre-Isaac Secretan, a lawyer, and Louise Rolaz du Rosey. He studied Law in Lausanne and at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Wü ...

, where he received a doctorate in 1780, becoming a lawyer in 1782. Among his clients were

Jacques Necker Jacques Necker (; 30 September 1732 – 9 April 1804) was a Genevan banker and statesman who served as finance minister for Louis XVI. He was a reformer, but his innovations sometimes caused great discontent. Necker was a constitutional monarchi ...

, Germaine de Staël and

Benjamin Constant Henri-Benjamin Constant de Rebecque (; 25 October 1767 – 8 December 1830), or simply Benjamin Constant, was a French people, Franco-Switzerland, Swiss political thinker, activist and writer on political theory and religion. A committed repub ...

Political career

Secretan began his political career as a member of the

Council of Two Hundred The Councils of Two Hundred (; ) were the legislative authorities in four Swiss cities (Zürich, Bern, Fribourg, Basel), as well as in the independent Republic of Geneva prior to the French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a peri ...

of Lausanne. He later held a position in the government of the

Helvetic Republic The Helvetic Republic (, , ) was a sister republic of France that existed between 1798 and 1803, during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was created following the French invasion and the consequent dissolution of the Old Swiss Confederacy, ma ...

(1798-1803), supporting an

unitary state A unitary state is a sovereign state governed as a single entity in which the central government is the supreme authority. The central government may create (or abolish) administrative divisions (sub-national units). Such units exercise only th ...

and

Jewish emancipation Jewish emancipation was the process in various nations in Europe of eliminating Jewish disabilities, e.g. Jewish quotas, to which European Jews were then subject, and the recognition of Jews as entitled to equality and citizenship rights. It incl ...

. After the end of the Republic, Secretan held various political and judicial offices in the new canton of Vaud and its capital, Lausanne. He was appointed member of the commission charged with drafting the Federal Treaty, the new Swiss constitution, in 1814. He served as member of the of

Grand Council of Vaud The Grand Council of Vaud (french: Grand Conseil de Vaud) is the legislature of the canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. Vaud has a unicameral legislature. The Great Council has 150 seats, with members elected every five years. The last electio ...

from 1803 until his death on 24 May 1839, in Lausanne.

References

1758 births 1839 deaths People from Lausanne Botanists with author abbreviations Swiss mycologists University of Tübingen alumni 19th-century Swiss lawyers 18th-century Swiss politicians 19th-century Swiss politicians {{Switzerland-botanist-stub