Frédéric Cuvier

Title page of the sixth volume of the Histoire naturelle des mammifères

Frédéric Georges Cuvier (born June 28, 1773 in Montbéliard , † July 24, 1838 in Strasbourg ) was a French zoologist and paleontologist . Its official botanical author's abbreviation is " F.Cuvier ".

Live and act

Frédéric Cuvier was the youngest son of Jean-Georges Cuvier (1715–1795), a former lieutenant in a Swiss regiment, and his wife Anne-Clémence Catherine Châtel (1736–1792). His older brother was the naturalist Georges Cuvier . After Cuvier had shown little interest in school, he completed an apprenticeship as a watchmaker in Montbéliard . Following an invitation from his brother, he moved to Paris in 1797. It was there that Cuvier discovered the natural sciences and, among others, researched the galvanic cell discovered by Alessandro Volta with Jean-Baptiste Biot .

In 1804 Cuvier became head of the zoological department of the National Museum of Natural History ( Muséum national d'histoire naturelle ) in Paris. In 1810 he became inspector of the Paris Académie des Sciences , in 1826 its member. From 1816 Cuvier was editor of the Dictionnaire des natural sciences . In 1831 he became inspector general of the universities, in 1837 a chair in comparative physiology was created for him at the National Museum , and in 1838 Cuvier finally became director of the museum.

In 1820 Cuvier was elected a member of the Leopoldina Science Academy . On June 4, 1835 he was accepted as a member of the Royal Society .

His scientific interest was mainly animal behavior and animal intelligence.

Honors

The Cuvier gazelle ( Gazella cuvieri ) was named in his honor.

Fonts (selection)

Histoire naturelle des mammifères avec des figures originales coloriées, dessinées d'après les animaux vivants . 1819–1842 (with Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire )
Des dents des mammifères, considerées comme caractères zoologiques . FG Levrault, Strasbourg 1825 ( online ).
De l'Histoire naturelle des Cétacés . Roret, Paris 1836 ( online ).

literature

Ranck Bourdier: Cuvier, Frédéric . In: Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography . Volume 3, Charles Scribner's Sons, Detroit 2008. pp. 520-521 (on-line) .

Individual evidence

↑ Bo Beolens, Michael Watkins, Michael Grayson: The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals . Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 2009, ISBN 978-0-8018-9304-9 , p. 94.

Web links

Author entry and list of the described plant names for Frédéric Cuvier at the IPNI
Entry to Cuvier; Frederic (1773-1838) in the Archives of the Royal Society , London

personal data
SURNAME	Cuvier, Frédéric
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Cuvier, Frédéric Georges (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	French zoologist and physicist
DATE OF BIRTH	June 28, 1773
PLACE OF BIRTH	Montbeliard
DATE OF DEATH	July 24, 1838
Place of death	Strasbourg

[1] Bo Beolens, Michael Watkins, Michael Grayson: The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals . Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 2009, ISBN 978-0-8018-9304-9 , p. 94.