Jean-Nicolas-Sébastien Allamand (, ; born 18 October 1716, or, according to other sources, 18 September 1713 – died 2 March 1787) was a Swiss-born Dutch natural philosopher. He conducted early research on

giraffe The giraffe is a large Fauna of Africa, African even-toed ungulate, hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa.'' It is the Largest mammals#Even-toed Ungulates (Artiodactyla), tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on ...

s, using skin and bone samples sent in 1764 from South Africa.

Life

He was born in

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

. At first he specialized in

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

, and subsequently he came to the Netherlands, where he practised

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

, and natural history, in

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

. He met Willem 'sGravesande, who entrusted him with the education of his two sons and made him his executor. Allamand expanded his knowledge of physics, and with 'sGravesande's support, he became a professor of philosophy at the University of Franeker on 3 March 1747. Two years later, he was called back and became a professor of mathematics and philosophy at the

University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange as a Protestant institution, it holds the distinction of being the oldest university in the Neth ...

. He accepted this position on 30 May with a reading of ''On the True Philosopher'', which was mostly designed to praise his mentor. As a practitioner of

natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

, Allamand was important for the creation and expansion of a Cabinet of Natural History at the University. He also collected from his own funds a Cabinet of Natural Rarities, during his lifetime open to students in a hall behind the Academy building. He donated it to the University on his death on 2 March 1787. He was a benefactor of the Cabinet of Antiquities. He had no children with his wife, Margaretha Crommelin. He sent skin and bone (

ossicone Ossicones are columnar or conical skin-covered bone structures on the heads of giraffes, male okapi, and some of their extinct relatives. Ossicones are distinguished from the superficially similar structures of Horn (anatomy), horns and antlers ...

) samples from giraffes to the samples the French naturalist, the

Comte de Buffon Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (; 7 September 1707 – 16 April 1788) was a French naturalist, mathematician, and cosmologist. He held the position of ''intendant'' (director) at the ''Jardin du Roi'', now called the Jardin des plant ...

in Paris, who studied them and later wrote about them in his ''Histoire Naturelle.'' Allamand was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 1747.

Works

He enriched the bird descriptions in the Dutch edition of Buffon's ''

Histoire Naturelle The ''Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière, avec la description du Cabinet du Roi'' (; ) is an encyclopaedic collection of 36 large (quarto) volumes written between 1749–1804, initially by the Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon, Comte ...

'' with many additions and descriptions. Further, Allamand edited the writings of 'sGravensande, ''Oeuvres philosophiques et mathématiques'' (2 volumes, with 28 illustrations, Amsterdam 1774), and the ''Geschiedkundig Woordenboek'' of Prosper Marchand, which he edited. He also translated from Latin: Brisson's ''Dierenrijk'', Leiden 1762, to which he added many remarks. From French, he translated: *Oliver's ''Verhandeling over de Kometen'', 1777 *H. Hopp's new description of Cape Good Hope, 1778 *Reading of Jakob Forster concerning different subjects, Leiden, 1793. *

Herman Boerhaave Herman Boerhaave (, 31 December 1668 – 23 September 1738Underwood, E. Ashworth. "Boerhaave After Three Hundred Years." ''The British Medical Journal'' 4, no. 5634 (1968): 820–25. .) was a Dutch chemist, botanist, Christian humanist, and ph ...

's ''Elementen der scheikunde'' *Ellis, ''Natuurlijke Historie van de Koraalgewassen en andere Zeeligchamen'', Amsterdam, 1756 He wrote some essays on physics, and gave the first explanation of the

Leyden jar A Leyden jar (or Leiden jar, or archaically, Kleistian jar) is an electrical component that stores a high-voltage electric charge (from an external source) between electrical conductors on the inside and outside of a glass jar. It typically co ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allamand, Jean-Nicolas-Sébastien 1710s births 1787 deaths People from Lausanne 18th-century Swiss philosophers 18th-century Swiss physicists 18th-century Swiss mathematicians 18th-century Swiss zoologists 18th-century Calvinist and Reformed ministers Swiss Calvinist and Reformed ministers Swiss emigrants to the Netherlands Academic staff of Leiden University Academic staff of the University of Franeker Fellows of the Royal Society Year of birth uncertain Date of birth uncertain