Louis François de Pourtalès (4 March 1824 – 18 July 1880) was a

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" * Franco of Cologne (mid to late 13th cent ...

- American

naturalist 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 ...

, born at

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Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Early life and education

Pourtales was born on 4 March 1824 and regarded as a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

representative of an old family with lineage in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

, and

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

. After the death of his father, he succeeded to the title of Count and inherited a fortune that enabled his scientific pursuits. He was educated as an engineer. He was regarded as an expert in mathematics, physics and zoology, and had interest in literature, poetry and history.

Death

Pourtales died on 18 July 1880 from an unspecified "obscure internal disease".

Career

Pourtales was a pupil of

Louis Agassiz Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz ( ; ) FRS (For) FRSE (May 28, 1807 – December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-born American biologist and geologist who is recognized as a scholar of Earth's natural history. Spending his early life in Switzerland, he recei ...

, whom he accompanied in 1840 on glacial expeditions in the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

and, in 1847, followed Agassiz to immigrate into the United States. In 1848, he entered government service with the

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and became profoundly interested in the deep sea. He made some of the first observations of the deep sea bottom and of

globigerina ''Globigerina'' () is a genus of planktonic Foraminifera, in the order of Rotaliida.Glob ...

. In 1851 he assisted in the triangulation of the Florida Reef, and from 1854 until his resignation in 1873 had special charge of the office and field work of the tidal department of the Coast Survey. In 1873 he became custodian of the Harvard

Museum of Comparative Zoology The Museum of Comparative Zoology (formally the Agassiz Museum of Comparative Zoology and often abbreviated to MCZ) is a zoology museum located on the grounds of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is one of three natural-history r ...

, in which he had previously been assistant in

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

. He was later appointed Keeper of the Museum of Comparative Zoology and worked closely with the curator

Alexander Agassiz Alexander Emmanuel Rodolphe Agassiz (December 17, 1835March 27, 1910), son of Louis Agassiz and stepson of Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz, was an American scientist and engineer. Biography Agassiz was born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, and immigrated t ...

. L. Agassiz attempted to get him a professorship. In 1871, Pourtalès published one of his most famous works, ''Deep Sea Corals'' based on his memoirs as the first in the United States to undertake deep-sea dredging with USC&GS ''George S. Blake'' and was an authority on

marine zoology Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine current power * Marine debris * Marine energy * Marine habitats * Mar ...

. A second memoir was published on the results of the Hassler Expedition. Pourtalès' last work was a report on the Florida Reef.

Honors and awards

The name '' Pourtalesia'' was given to a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

sea urchin Sea urchins or urchins () are echinoderms in the class (biology), class Echinoidea. About 950 species live on the seabed, inhabiting all oceans and depth zones from the intertidal zone to deep seas of . They typically have a globular body cove ...

s as found by the

Challenger expedition The ''Challenger'' expedition of 1872–1876 was a scientific programme that made many discoveries to lay the foundation of oceanography. The expedition was named after the naval vessel that undertook the trip, . The expedition, initiated by W ...

. He was a member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

and wrote various contributions to the Coast Survey reports to

Benjamin Silliman Benjamin Silliman (August 8, 1779 – November 24, 1864) was an American chemist and science education, science educator. He was one of the first American professors of science, the first science professor at Yale University, Yale, and the firs ...

's ''

American Journal of Science The ''American Journal of Science'' (''AJS'') is the United States of America's longest-running scientific journal, having been published continuously since its conception in 1818 by Professor Benjamin Silliman, who edited and financed it himself ...

'', and to the ''Proceedings'' of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

Works

He published, under the auspices of the museum, several works, including: * * * * ''Corals and

Crinoid Crinoids are marine invertebrates that make up the class Crinoidea. Crinoids that remain attached to the sea floor by a stalk in their adult form are commonly called sea lilies, while the unstalked forms, called feather stars or comatulids, are ...

s'' (1878) * ''Report on the Corals and Antipatharia'' (1880)

References

External links

* * "Sketch of Count Pourtales", ''Popular Science Monthly'', Volume 18, February 1881
National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pourtales, Louis Francois de 1824 births 1880 deaths Pourtalès family People from Neuchâtel Harvard University staff American naturalists Swiss emigrants to the United States Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences United States Coast Survey