René-Primevère Lesson (20 March 1794 – 28 April 1849) was a French

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

, naturalist,

ornithologist 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

herpetologist Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians ( gymnophiona)) and rep ...

Biography

Lesson was born at

Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the Ga ...

, and entered the Naval Medical School in Rochefort at the age of sixteen. He served in 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 ...

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 ...

; in 1811 he was third surgeon on the frigate ''Saale'', and in 1813 was second surgeon on the ''Regulus''.Persée
Un pharmacien de la marine et voyageur naturaliste : R.-P Lesson In 1816 Lesson changed his classification to

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...

. He served on Duperrey's round-the-world voyage of ''La Coquille'' (1822–25), of which he collected natural history specimens with his fellow surgeon Prosper Garnot and officer

Dumont d'Urville Jules Sébastien César Dumont d'Urville (; 23 May 1790 – 8 May 1842) was a French explorer and naval officer who explored the south and western Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica. As a botanist and cartographer, he gave his nam ...

. During his visits to the

Moluccas The Maluku Islands (; Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Maluku'') or the Moluccas () are an archipelago in the east of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located eas ...

and

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

, Lesson became the first naturalist to see

birds of paradise The birds-of-paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species are found in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and eastern Australia. The family has 44 species in 17 genera. The members of ...

in the wild. On returning to

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 ...

, he spent seven years preparing the section on vertebrates for the official account of the expedition: "''Voyage autour du monde entrepris par ordre du Gouvernement sur la corvette La Coquille''" (published from 1826 to 1839). During this time period, he also produced "''Manuel d'Ornithologie''" (1828), "''Traité d'Ornithologie''" (1831), "''Centurie Zoologique''" (1830–32) and "''Illustrations de Zoologie''" (1832–35). Lesson also published several

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

s on

hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics aro ...

s and one book on birds of paradise:
''Histoire naturelle des oiseaux-mouches. ouvrage orné de planches''...
(1829-1831).
''Histoire naturelle des Colibris suivie d'un supplement a l'histoire naturelle des oiseaux-mouches''
(1831–32).

(1832). * [https://books.google.com/books/about/Histoire_naturelle_des_oiseaux_de_paradi.html?id=NyAOAAAAQAAJ ''Histoire naturelle des oiseaux de paradis et des épimaques; ouvrage orné de planches, dessinées et gravées par les meilleurs artistes''] (1835). In the field of herpetology he described many new species of amphibians and reptiles. On 3 February 1827 he married the artist and scientific illustrator Marie Clémence Lesson, Clémence Dumont de Sainte-Croix. Dumont de Sainte-Croix along with her sister

Zoë Dumont de Sainte-Croix Zoe (also ZOE, Zoë, Zoé, etc.) can refer to: *ζωή (''zōḗ''), the Ancient Greek word for "life" People * Zoe (name), including list of persons and fictional characters with the name Film and television * ''Zoe'' (film) * ZOE Broadcast ...

illustrated plates in Lesson's publications. From 1831, he served as a professor of pharmacy, and following a series of promotions, became the top-ranking naval pharmacist at Rochefort (1835). His experience as a

ship's surgeon A naval surgeon, or less commonly ship's doctor, is the person responsible for the health of the ship's company aboard a warship. The term appears often in reference to Royal Navy's medical personnel during the Age of Sail. Ancient uses Specialis ...

resulted in his two-volume "''Manuel d'histoire naturelle medicale, et de pharmacographie''" (1833), intended as a handbook for naval surgeons. He became a corresponding member of the ''

Académie de Médecine An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

'' in 1828, later becoming a correspondent 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 ...

'' (1833).Lesson, René Primevère (1794-1849)
Correspondance familiale He received 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 ...

'' in 1847. René Primevère Lesson is sometimes confused with his brother,

Pierre Adolphe Lesson Pierre Adolphe Lesson (1805-1888), also as Pierre-Adolphe Lesson, esson's official electronic archives, at his hometown's media library/ref> was a French botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant ...

(1805-1888), who participated on the '' Astrolabe'' expedition (as the ''Coquille'' had been renamed) in 1826–29, under the command of

Jules Dumont d'Urville Jules Sébastien César Dumont d'Urville (; 23 May 1790 – 8 May 1842) was a French explorer and naval officer who explored the south and western Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica. As a botanist and cartographer, he gave his nam ...

Amphibian and reptile species described by Lesson

listed in the order they were described (only species still recognized are listed) *''

Litoria aurea The green and golden bell frog (''Ranoidea aurea''), also named the green bell frog, green and golden swamp frog and green frog, is a species of ground-dwelling tree frog native to eastern Australia. Despite its classification and climbing abi ...

'' (Lesson, 1826) as'' Rana aurea'' (green and golden bell frog) *''

Pleurodema thaul ''Pleurodema thaul'', the chilean four-eyed frog is a species of frog in the family Leptodactylidae. It is found in Argentina and Chile. Its natural habitats are subantarctic forests, temperate forests, temperate shrubland, temperate grassland, ...

'' (Lesson, 1826) as'' Bufo thaul'' (Chile four-eyed frog) *'' Hylarana papua'' (Lesson, 1826) as'' Rana papua'' (Papua River frog) *''

Emoia cyanura ''Emoia cyanura'', the copper-tailed skink, is a species of skink. It is found in Borneo and South Pacific islands. Names It is known as kagisi in the Rennellese language of the Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country co ...

'' (Lesson, 1826) as ''Scincus cyanurus'' (copper-tailed emo skink) *'' Lamprolepis smaragdina'' (Lesson, 1826) as ''Hinulia smaragdina'' (emerald tree skink) *''

Liolaemus chiliensis ''Liolaemus chiliensis'' (Chilean tree iguana) is a species of lizard in the family Liolaemidae, also referred to as the weeping or crying lizard in English. Synonyms for this species include "Liodeira chilensis" and Calotes chiliensis."THE REPT ...

'' (Lesson, 1826) as ''Calotes chiliensis'' (Chilean tree lizard) *'' Ornithuroscincus noctua'' (Lesson, 1826) as ''Scincus noctua'' (moth skink) *'' Varanus douarrha'' (Lesson, 1830) *'' Emoia atrocostata'' (Lesson, 1830) as ''Scincus atrocostatus'' (mangrove skink) *'' Emoia cyanogaster'' (Lesson, 1830) as ''Scincus cyanogaster'' (green-bellied emo skink) *'' Enyalius brasiliensis'' (Lesson, 1830) as ''Lophurus brasiliensis'' (Brazilian fathead anole) *''

Gehyra oceanica ''Gehyra oceanica'', also known as the Oceania gecko or Pacific dtella, is a species of gecko in the genus '' Gehyra''. The larger '' Gehyra vorax'' (voracious gecko) of Fiji, Vanuatu and New Guinea has sometimes been included in this species, bu ...

'' (Lesson, 1830) as ''Gecko oceanicus'' (oceanic gecko) *''

Microlophus peruvianus ''Microlophus peruvianus'', the Peru Pacific iguana, is a species of lava lizard endemic to the Ecuador, Peru, and Chile. The species is commonly attributed to the genus ''Microlophus'' but has been attributed to the genus ''Tropidurus ''Trop ...

'' (Lesson, 1830) as ''Stellio peruvianus'' (Peruvian coastal lizard) *'' Micropechis ikaheca'' (Lesson, 1830) as ''Coluber ikaheka'' (New Guinea small-eyed snake) *''

Naja kaouthia The monocled cobra (''Naja kaouthia''), also called monocellate cobra and Indian spitting cobra, is a venomous cobra species widespread across South and Southeast Asia and listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Taxonomy The scientific n ...

'' Lesson, 1831 (monocled cobra) *''

Crocodylus palustris The mugger crocodile (''Crocodylus palustris'') is a medium-sized broad- snouted crocodile, also known as mugger and marsh crocodile. It is native to freshwater habitats from southern Iran to the Indian subcontinent, where it inhabits marshes ...

'' Lesson, 1831 (mugger crocodile) *''

Euphlyctis hexadactylus ''Euphlyctis hexadactylus'', also known as the green pond frog, Indian green frog, and Indian five-fingered frog, is a common species of aquatic frog found in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. The nominal taxon likely represents a specie ...

'' (Lesson, 1834) as'' Rana hexadactyla'' (Indian bullfrog) *'' Draco bourouniensis'' Lesson, 1834 (Buru flying lizard)

Lesson and the idea that counting in New Zealand proceeded by elevens

On his return from his voyage on the ''Coquille'' in 1825, Lesson published a French translation of "Du Grand Océan, de ses îles et de ses côtes" written by the German botanist

Adelbert von Chamisso Adelbert von Chamisso (; 30 January 178121 August 1838) was a German poet and botanist, author of ''Peter Schlemihl'', a famous story about a man who sold his shadow. He was commonly known in French as Adelbert de Chamisso (or Chamissot) de Bonc ...

. In the article, von Chamisso had claimed that the number system of New Zealand was based on twenty: "…de l'E. de la mer du Sud … c'est là qu'on trouve premierement le système arithmétique fondé sur un échelle de vingt, comme dans la Nouvelle-Zélande (2)..." ��east of the South Sea … is where we first find the arithmetic system based on a scale of twenty, as in New Zealand (2)... Lesson inserted the footnote (2) to mark this claim as an error: "(2) Erreur. Le système arithmétique des Zélandais est undécimal, et les Anglais sont les premiers qui ont propagé cette fausse idée. (L.)" 2) Error. The Zealander arithmetic system is undecimal, and the English are the first to propagate this misconception. (L). The term "undécimal" was possibly a printer's error that conjoined the phrase "un decimal," which would have correctly identified the New Zealand number system as decimal.

Undecimal The undecimal numeral system (also known as the base-11 numeral system) is a positional numeral system that uses eleven as its base. While no known society counts by elevens, two are purported to have done so: the Māori, one of the two Polynes ...

was interpreted to mean "counting by elevens," as a parallel construction to the term "duodecimal" for twelve-based counting. The mention of "the English" likely referred to Samuel Lee and

Thomas Kendall Thomas Kendall (13 December 1778 – 6 August 1832) was a New Zealand missionary, recorder of the Māori language, schoolmaster, arms dealer, and Pākehā Māori. Early life: Lincolnshire and London, 1778–1813 A younger son of farmer Ed ...

, as their 1820 grammar of the New Zealand language had been von Chamisso's source. Regardless of whether his 1825 use of "undécimal" originated as a printer's error or not, over the next several years, Lesson and his friend and shipmate

Jules de Blosseville Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). It is the given name of: People with the name *Jules Aarons (1921–2008), American space physicist and photographer *Jules Abadie (1876–195 ...

would deliberately embellish and attempt to establish as fact the idea that New Zealand had a base 11 number system. The idea was published in 1826 by the Italian geographer

Adriano Balbi Adriano Balbi (April 25, 1782 – March 14, 1848), Italian geographer, was born at Venice. The publication of his ''Prospetto politico-geografico dello stato attuale del globo'' (Venice, 1808) obtained his election to the chair of professor of geog ...

as the contents of a letter he received from Lesson, a missive that added an elevens-based numerical vocabulary (including terms meaning eleven squared and cubed) and details of its purported collection from New Zealand informants. It was again mentioned in 1826 by the Hungarian astronomer

Franz Xaver von Zach Baron Franz Xaver von Zach (''Franz Xaver Freiherr von Zach''; 4 June 1754 – 2 September 1832) was a Hungarian astronomer born at Pest, Hungary (now Budapest in Hungary). Biography Zach studied physics at the Royal University of Pest, and s ...

, who reported it thirdhand as a letter written by Blosseville: "M. Nell de Bréanté écrit que, d'après les communications qu'il a reçues de M. de Blosseville, la carte des Carolines, et surtout celle de la Nouvelle-Zélande, est beaucoup changée par les observations faites dans l'expédition de la ''Coquille'' par le capitaine Duperrey. Dans cette dernière île, on a trouvé en usage un système de numération ''undécimal''" [Mr. Nell de Bréauté writes that, according to the communications he has received from M. de Blosseville, the map of the Carolinas, and especially that of New Zealand, is much changed by the observations made in the expedition of the ''Coquille'' by Captain Duperrey. On this last island, a system of undecimal numbering was found in use]. Lesson was also likely to have authored an undated, anonymous essay found among and published with the papers of the Prussian linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt in 1839. The essay contains the most extensive detail of the known sources, mentioning

by name and listing several

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

locations where the alleged informants were supposedly from, matters that would have been known to Lesson from his work and 1824 visit to that island.

Honours

Lessonia is a genus of large

kelp Kelps are large brown algae seaweeds that make up the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera. Despite its appearance, kelp is not a plant - it is a heterokont, a completely unrelated group of organisms. Kelp grows in "underwat ...

native to the southern

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

and named in René Lesson's honour, in 1825. Then '' Lessoniopsis'' (a brown algae) in 1903 was also named.

Bibliography

By Lesson

* ''Manuel d'ornithologie, ou Description des genres et des principales espèces d'oiseaux'', deux volumes, Roret, Paris, 1828. * ''Histoire naturelle des oiseaux-mouches : ouvrage orné de planches dessinées et gravées par les meilleurs artistes'', deux volumes, Arthus Bertrand, Paris, 1829. * ''Histoire naturelle des colibris, suivie d'un supplément à l'histoire naturelle des oiseaux-mouches. Ouvrage orné de planches dessinées et gravées par les meilleurs artistes, et dédié à M. le baron Cuvier'', Arthus Bertrand, Paris, 1830–1831. * ''Centurie zoologique, ou, Choix d'animaux rares, nouveaux ou imparfaitement connus: enrichi de planches inédites, dessinées d'après nature par M. Prêtre, gravées et coloriées avec le plus grand soin'', F.G. Levrault, Bruxelles, 1830–1832. * ''Traité d'ornithologie, ou Tableau méthodique des ordres, sous-ordres, familles, tribus, genres, sous-genres et races d'oiseaux'', Levrault, Paris, 1831. * ''Illustrations de zoologie, ou, Recueil de figures d'animaux peintes d'après nature'', Arthus Bertrand, Paris, 1831–1835. * ''Manuel d'Histoire Naturelle Médicale, et de Pharmacographie, ou tábleau synoptique, méthodique et descriptif des produits que la médecine et les arts empruntent à l'histoire naturelle'', Roret, Paris, 1833. * ''Flore rochefortine, ou Description des plantes qui croissent spontanément ou qui sont naturalisées aux environs de la ville de Rochefort'', .n.Rochefort, 1835. * ''Histoire naturelle générale et particulière des mammifères et des oiseaux découverts depuis la mort de Buffon'', Pourrat Frères, Paris, 1834–1836. * ''Prodrome d'une monographie des méduses'', Rochefort, Paris, 1837 * ''Voyage autour du monde, entrepris par ordre du gouvernement sur la Corvette La Coquille'', Pourrat frères, Paris, 1838–1839. * ''Species des mammifères bimanes et quadrumanes, suivi d'un mémoire sur les Oryctéropes'', J.-B. Baillière, Paris, 1840. * ''Les trochilidées ou Les colibris et les oiseaux-mouches : suivis d'un index général, dans lequel sont décrites et classées méthodiquement toutes les races et espèces du genre trochilus'', Arthus Bertrand, Paris, 1840. * ''Moeurs, instinct et singularités de la vie des Animaux Mammifères'', Paulin, Paris, 1842. * ''Fastes historiques. Archéologie, bibliographie, etc. du département de la Charente-Inférieure'', coll. Gustav. Bord., Rochefort, 1842. * ''Histoire naturelle des zoophytes. Acalèphes'', deux volumes, Roret, Paris, 1843. * ''Notice historique sur l'amiral Dumont d'Urville,... Mémoire envoyé au concours ouvert par l'Académie de Caen en 1844'', H. Loustau, Rochefort, 1844. * ''Description de mammifères et d'oiseaux récemment découverts; précédée d'un Tableau sur les races humaines'', Lévêque, Paris, Veith, Carlsruhe, F. Bélisard, Pétersbourg, 1847. * ''Nouveau manuel complet de l'éleveur d'oiseaux de volière et de cage ou Guide de l'oiselier : contenant la description des genres et des principales espèces d'oiseaux indigènes et exotiques'', nouveau édition, Roret, Paris, 1867.

About Lesson

* Baillière, J.B. (1840)
''Species des mammifères bimanes et quadrumanes; suivi d'un mémoire sur les Oryctéropes''
Paris. * Duquy, Raymond (1995). ''René Primevère Lesson. Un voyage autour du monde''. in ''Aventures scientifiques. Savants en Poitou-Charentes du XVIe au XXe siècle'' (DHOMBRES J., dir.), Les éditions de l’Actualité Poitou-Charentes (Poitiers) : 136–147. * Lefèvre, M. A. (1850). ''Élogie historique de R.-P. Lesson''. Rochefort, France: Henry Loustau. * Rallet, Louis. (1953). Un naturaliste saintongeais: René-Primevère Lesson (1794–1849). ''Annales de La Société des Sciences Naturelles de la Charente-Maritime'', vol. III, no. 8, pp. 77–131.

References

External links

Gallica: works by René Primevère Lesson
''Note: "Recherche" is the French for "search".''
WorldCat Search
(publications by Lesson) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lesson, Rene 1794 births 1849 deaths French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars French military doctors French Navy officers French naturalists French pharmacists 19th-century French physicians French ornithologists Recipients of the Legion of Honour Ornithological writers Naval surgeons People from Rochefort, Charente-Maritime