Charles-Nicolas-Sigisbert Sonnini de Manoncourt (1 February 1751 – 9 May 1812) was a French naturalist.

Career

Between 1799 and 1808, Sonnini de Manoncourt wrote 127 volumes of the ''Histoire naturelle''. Noteworthy among these, especially for

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 ...

s, is ''Histoire naturelle des Reptiles, avec figures desinées d'après nature'', in four volumes, which he wrote 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 ...

. This work includes descriptions and illustrations of many North American reptiles. Another important work attributed to him is ''

The Lost Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles The ''Lost Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles'', also known as the Sonnini Manuscript, is a short text purporting to be the translation of a manuscript containing the 29th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, detailing Paul the Apostle's journey ...

'', also dubbed the ''Sonnini manuscript'', which was allegedly found in his publication ''Voyage en Grèce et en Turquie'' and later published and translated to English some time not earlier than 1801. The work, which first appeared in London in 1871, has received mixed opinions from different Christians, with most scholars rejecting it as a modern pseudepigraph.

Publications in English

* Sonnini de Manoncourt, ''Travels to Upper and Lower Egypt'', 1799, translated by Rev. Henry Hunter * C. S. Sonnini, ''Travels in Greece and Turkey'', 1801. (2 volumes)

References

People from Lunéville 1751 births 1812 deaths French naturalists Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery {{France-scientist-stub