Paul Camboué (22 April 1849 – July 1929) was a French

Jesuit priest , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

, arachnologist, and

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 ...

Life

Camboué was born in

Mont-de-Marsan Mont-de-Marsan (; Occitan: ''Lo Mont de Marçan'') is a commune and capital of the Landes department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. Population Military installations The French Air and Space Force operates the ''Constantin Rozan ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

on 22 April 1849, and studied at the College of St. Joseph in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

at a middle school run by the Jesuits of Tivoli. He received his baccalaureate in science at the age of 16, and became a lawyer at the

appellate court A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...

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 ...

after getting a law degree. He served as a lieutenant in the Franco-Prussian War."Camboué, Reverend Paul", ''The Catholic Encyclopedia and Its Makers'', New York, the Encyclopedia Press, 1917, p. 24
/ref> In October 1872, he joined the novitiate of the Jesuits of

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

and was ordained in 1881. He arrived in

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

on 10 November 1882, the place where he stayed for much of his life. He was a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

, and worked in

Arivonimamo Arivonimamo is a city (commune urbaine) in Itasy Region, in the Central Highlands of Madagascar. Arivonimamo is connected by the National Road No.1 to Antananarivo (50 km in the east) and Tsiroanomandidy (west). The Antananarivo international ...

and Ambohibeloma. He also became interested in Malagasy culture. He penned the article on "Madagascar" for the ''Catholic Encyclopedia''. He was procurator in France of the Malagasy mission, and professor of the Malagasy language at the Catholic Institute in Paris. He was involved in extracting

spider silk Spider silk is a protein fibre spun by spiders. Spiders use their silk to make Spider web, webs or other structures, which function as sticky nets to catch other animals, or as nests or cocoons to protect their offspring, or to wrap up prey. ...

; the '' Magasin Pittoresque'' commented that "Various attempts have been made at different times to utilize the thread of the spider, but to Father Camboné, a French missionary to Madagascar, is due the credit of having first brought these attempts to a successful issue". Camboué became an associate member of the

Malagasy Academy The Malagasy Academy (''Académie Malgache'') is a public institution in Madagascar responsible for the study of Culture of Madagascar, the country's culture and customs, including studies in Madagascar's linguistics, ethnology and sociology, as wel ...

on 12 November 1903 and a titular member on 29 June 1927. He was a corresponding member of the

Académie des Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. It was at the ...

. For his scientific work, he received the Savigny prize in 1870, the Duseigneur-Kléber prize of the Lyons Chamber of Commerce, and the Saintour prize of the Académie des Sciences on 22 December 1924.

Alfred Grandidier Alfred Grandidier (20 December 1836 – 13 September 1921) was a French naturalist and explorer. From a very wealthy family, at the age of 20, he and his brother, Ernest Grandidier (1833–1912), undertook a voyage around the world. At first ...

's report to the Académie des Sciences prepared for the awarding of the Savigny prize described his scientific work; an excerpt is provided below: Paul Camboué died in Madagascar in July 1929.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Camboue, Paul French Jesuits French arachnologists French entomologists People from Mont-de-Marsan 1849 births 1929 deaths Contributors to the Catholic Encyclopedia