Pierre François Marie Auguste Dejean (10 August 1780 – 17 March 1845), was a French soldier 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 ...

. Dejean described a large number of beetles in a series of catalogues. A soldier of fortune during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

, he rose to the rank of lieutenant general and ''aide de campe'' to

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. He amassed vast collections of

Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

, some even collected on the battlefield at Waterloo. At the battle of Alcanizas he took time out of battle to pick up a beetle that he pinned on to cork on the inside of his helmet. After victory, he was pleased to find the beetle intact. He listed 22,399 species in his cabinets in 1837—at the time, the greatest collection of Coleoptera in the world. In 1802, he began publishing a catalogue of his vast collection, including 22,000 species names. Dejean was an opponent of the

Principle of Priority 270px, '' valid name. Priority is a fundamental principle of modern botanical nomenclature and zoological nomenclature. Essentially, it is the principle of recognising the first valid application of a name to a plant or animal. There are two asp ...

nomenclature Nomenclature (, ) is a system of names or terms, or the rules for forming these terms in a particular field of arts or sciences. The principles of naming vary from the relatively informal naming conventions, conventions of everyday speech to the i ...

. "''I have made it a rule always to preserve the name most generally used , and not the oldest one; because it seems to me that general usage should always be followed and that it is harmful to change what has already been established''". Dejean acted accordingly and often introduced ''in litteris'' names, given by himself to replace those already published by other authors. They became invalid. Dejean was president 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 ...

for the year 1840. In 1834, 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 ...

. He died on 17 March 1845.

Works

*''Catalogue des Coléoptères de la collection d'Auguste Dejean'' (1802) *''Catalogue de la collection de Coléoptères de M. le Baron Dejean'' (1821) *''Catalogue des Coléoptères de la collection de M. le Comte Dejean'' (1833–1836) *''Catalogue des Coléoptères de la collection de M. le Comte Dejean. Troisième édition, revue, corrigée et augmentée.'' (1836–1837) * with

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 ...

''Histoire naturelle et iconographie des insectes coléoptères d'Europe'' Paris : Crevot, 1822
digitised at Gallica
*''Spécies Général des Coléoptères, de la collection de M. le Comte Dejean'' (1825–1838)

Beetles

*''

Carabus sylvestris transsylvanicus ''Carabus sylvestris transsylvanicus'' is a subspecies of green-coloured beetle in the family Carabidae that can be found in Hungary, Liechtenstein, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ...

'', described in 1826

References

*d'Aguilar, J. 2008, Dejean, une légende entomologique. ''Insectes'' (149): 17-18 *Barber, H. S. and Bridwell, J. C., 1940 Dejean Catalogue names (Coleoptera). ''Bulletin of the Brooklyn Entomological Society'', Lancaster, Pa. 35 (1): 1-12 *Madge, R. B. 1988, ejean, P. F. M. A.''Arch. Nat. Hist.'', London 15 (3): 317-321 * Peyerimhoff, P. de 1932, ''La Société entomologique de France'' (1832–1931). Soc. Ent. France, Livre du Centenaire, Paris : 1-86m Plates. I-XIII

External links

Portrait and Short account of DejeanInternet Archive
''Spècies Général des Coléoptères, de la collection de M. le Comte Dejean'' Volume 1
Internet Archive
''Spècies Général des Coléoptères, de la collection de M. le Comte Dejean'' Volume 2
Internet Archive
''Spècies Général des Coléoptères, de la collection de M. le Comte Dejean'' Volume 3
Internet Archive
''Spècies Général des Coléoptères, de la collection de M. le Comte Dejean'' Volume 4
Internet Archive
''Spècies Général des Coléoptères, de la collection de M. le Comte Dejean'' Volume 5
Internet Archive
''Spècies Général des Coléoptères, de la collection de M. le Comte Dejean'' Volume 6 (''Species général des hydrocanthares et gyriniens'', by Charles Aubé)
Gaedike, R.; Groll, E. K. & Taeger, A. 2012: Bibliography of the entomological literature from the beginning until 1863 : online database - version 1.0 - Senckenberg Deutsches Entomologisches Institut.
Links to collection details and biographies. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dejean, Pierre Francois Marie Auguste 1780 births 1845 deaths French entomologists Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery French commanders of the Napoleonic Wars People from Amiens Presidents of the Société entomologique de France 19th-century French zoologists Barons of the First French Empire Counts of France