Bernard Germain of Lacépède

See also: Lacépède (homonymy)

Bernard Germain Etienne of Laville-on-Illon, count de Lacépède (sometimes called of Cépède ), born the December 26th 1756 with Agen and died the October 6th 1825 with Epinay-sur-Seine, is a Zoologiste and a Politician French.

Its family is of an old nobility of Agen. Orphan of mother very early, it is his father, Jean-Joseph Medard, count of the City, which takes care of its education. He inherits the name of Lacépède of an uncle who bequeaths his fortune on the condition to him of preserving his patronym.

Of a not very social nature, it is devoted first of all to the study of the Philosophie and the Musique. Player of violoncello, it maintains besides a correspondence with Gluck (1714-1787) and subjects to him an opera, Omphale ; Gluck will make him compliment of it. It goes to Paris, at nineteen years, in 1777 and makes appear in 1785 a Poétique of the Music . It binds friendship with Buffon (1707-1788) which encourages it to study the Natural history. Ambiteux, wanting to make known itself either by the music, or by science, it makes appear in 1781 a Essai on natural and artificial electricity and in 1784 a general and particular Physique .

He collaborates then in the Natural history of Buffon and publishes many works of natural history in particular on the marine animal-life. He makes appear, in 1788 - 1789, his Natural history of the quadrupeds oviparous animals and the serpens . It is about the first work of scale on the Amphibien S and the Reptile S intended for many people. But its illustrations are poor and its book does not improve the Taxinomie of these animals. The work of Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti (1735-1805), however older (1768), is quite higher. In spite of these defects, the work of Lacépède contributes to support the study of these animals.

He flees Paris in prey with excesses of Terror and he is then replaced with the Jardin of the king become the national Muséum of natural history by Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (1772-1844). He takes refuge in Normandy in the village of Lieuville. In 1795, he becomes perpetual secretary of the Academy of Science. It is received with the Académie of Rouen the August 3rd 1803,

It makes appear an important work on the Poisson S between 1798 and 1803, it is entitled Natural history of the fish . Lacépède is inspired largely by the notes and the collections left by Philibert Commerson (1727-1773). Its impact on the Ichtyologie is immense. Thus, Constantine Samuel Rafinesque (1783-1840) is pressed on its analytical keys when it describes new S.

It becomes preserving Cabinet of curiosities of the Jardin of the king. At the time of the transformation of the Garden into national Natural history museum of natural history, Lacépède is absent from Paris because it fears for its life because of being noble and to have carried on political activities. It is thus not integrated into the Natural history museum. It is only when the pulpit of the Vertébré S is divided into two, that it receives the new pulpit of Ichtyologie and Herpétologie.

But it gives up little by little the natural history, its political activities the occupant more and more. He is senator in 1799, president of the Sénat in 1801. Semi-officially, it gives up any teaching with the Natural history museum since 1803 and is replaced by André Marie Constant Duméril (1774-1860).

Selective list of works

Test on natural and artificial electricity (1781).
Physical general and particular (1782-1784).
Theory of comets, to be used for the system of universal electricity (1784).
the poetic one of the music (1785).
Natural history of the quadrupeds oviparous animals and the serpens (1788-1789).
Seen on public education (1790).
Natural history of the fish (1797-1798).
Table of divisions, subdivisions, orders and kinds of the mammals (1798).
the Menagerie of the national Natural history museum of natural history (1801).
Natural history of cétacées the (1809).
Ellival and Caroline (1816).
Charles d' Ellival and Alphonsine de Florentino (1817).
Seen general of progress of several branches of the natural science, since the death of Buffon… (1818)
general, physical and civil History of Europe, since the last years of Ve century until worms medium of the XVIIIe (1826).
Natural history of the man, preceded by his historical praise by Mr. the Baron G. Vat (1827).

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