Louis Claude Marie Richard

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Stylidium laricifolium drawn by Louis Claude Marie Richard

Louis Claude Marie Richard (born September 19, 1754 in Auteuil , France , † June 7, 1821 in Paris ) was a French botanist . Its official botanical author abbreviation is " Rich. "; the abbreviation “ LCRich. " in use.

Live and act

His father was Claude Richard, who was garden master in the royal park of Auteuil . He was very educated and also well versed in mathematics. Louis Richard and his 15 siblings should receive a good education. Louis was therefore first sent to the collége de Vernon . At the age of 13 his uncle made a petition to the Archbishop of Paris and a clerical career for Louis was considered. However, the boy was not enthusiastic about it and tried to refuse it. However, his father was adamant and he had to leave his parents' house to go to Paris. He was able to wrest a pension of 12 francs a month from his father . In Paris he attended courses in rhetoric and philosophy that were held at the Collège Mazarin . He educated himself in botany, comparative anatomy, zoology, and mineralogy. During this time he also began to draw. It turned out to be lucrative to make plans for Auteuil. He saved the money to travel to America.

At a young age he was introduced to the Académie des sciences , where he was particularly noticed by Bernard de Jussieu , who from then on promoted him, granted him access to his library and also made his extensive collection accessible to him. In 1781 the academy proposed to King Louis XVI. to send a research trip. This should lead to Guyana and the Antilles . Even if the monarch promised to compensate for the expenses for the trip, Richard still had to make an advance payment, which he could as he had earned enough with his drawing work. The journey took Richard from Cayenne to the Gulf of Mexico and was to last until 1789. The trip was characterized by extensive excursions that were exhausting and also very dangerous. He acted as a zoologist, mineralogist and botanist rolled into one. He described and dissected animals and identified and drew plants. Over time he put on large collections. Towards the end of the expedition this had grown to a considerable size and because the transport by the indigenous natives caused high costs, he wrote to France. However, he got no answer. Nevertheless, he manages to get these collections to France.

When he returned to Paris, the French Revolution had already begun and most of his patrons and friends either were unable or unwilling to help. Even the king could not keep his promise.

In addition to his herbarium, which contains around three thousand plants, boxes of mussels, birds and other animals as well as minerals, he brought a hernia and chronic cystitis with him from South America. In 1790 he turned his back on traveling and married. With that he withdrew almost completely from the public. His work at that time was more zoological. He owned one of the largest and richest collections of shells, which he determined and developed a completely new method of classification. During this time he became a corresponding member of the Royal Society . He was also elected first class member of the institute national des sciences (Académie des sciences). In addition, Richard was elected a corresponding member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences in 1812 .

As a botanist, he described, among other things, the orchid genus Liparis .

His son Achille Richard (1794-1852) was also a botanist.

Honors

Works

  • Demonstrations botaniques, ou analyze du fruit , 1808.
  • Analyze botanique des embryons endorhizes ou monocotylédonés , 1811.
  • De Orchideis europaeis annotationes ... , 1817.
  • Commentatio botanica de Coniferis et Cycadeis , 1826.
  • De Musaceis commentatio botanica… , edited by his son, 1831.

literature

  • Robert Zander : Zander concise dictionary of plant names . Ed .: Fritz Encke , Günther Buchheim, Siegmund Seybold . 13th, revised and expanded edition. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 1984, ISBN 3-8001-5042-5 .
  • Annales des sciences naturelles , first volume, Imprimerie de Migneret, 1824, pages 201-221
  • Annales de l'Académie de Mâcon: société des arts, sciences, belles-lettres et arts , 2009, pages 289-290

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ In the case of Zander, September 4, 1754 is mentioned differently.
  2. ^ List of members since 1666: Letter R. Académie des sciences, accessed on February 20, 2020 (French).
  3. ↑ Lotte Burkhardt: Directory of eponymous plant names - Extended Edition. Part I and II. Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin , Freie Universität Berlin , Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-946292-26-5 doi: 10.3372 / epolist2018 .
  4. ↑ Annales des sciences naturelles , first volume, Imprimerie de Migneret, 1824, pages 201–221, digitized , accessed on September 13, 2017
  5. ↑ Annales de l'Académie de Mâcon: société des arts, sciences, belles-lettres et arts , 2009, pages 289–290, digitized , accessed on September 13, 2017
personal data
SURNAME Richard, Louis Claude Marie
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French botanist
DATE OF BIRTH September 19, 1754
PLACE OF BIRTH Auteuil , France
DATE OF DEATH June 7, 1821
Place of death Paris