Philibert Commerson

(to pronounce the " one " of Commers one as in " cress one ")
Philibert Commerson (November 18th 1727, Châtillon-les-Dombes - March 13rd 1773, island of France) is an explorer and a Naturaliste French.

Biography

Commerson is impassioned by the Natural history, in particular the Ichtyologie and the Botanique, as of its young age. Although intended by his/her father for the same trade that him, notary, Philibert Commerson can study medicine with the Medical college of Montpellier where it obtained his title of doctor in 1747.

Its passion for botany is such, that he does not hesitate to fly of the crop plants in the botanical gardens of the neighborhoods, at the point where the professor of botany of the university prohibits the access of them to him.

It starts to travel in France and Europe and begins its Herbier. In relation to Carl von Linné (1707-1778), Commerson studies and describes the Mediterranean Poisson S and a treaty draws some from Ichtyologie which it dedicates to the queen of Sweden.

Recommended by the astronomer Lalande (1732-1807), Commerson is indicated as naturalist to accompany Bougainville (1729-1811) in its voyage around the world. It embarks in 1766 in the flute the Star with his partner, Jeanne Barret (1740-1803) which is made pass for its servant. It is at the time of the stage of Brazil that he discovers the Bougainvillée.

It arrives in 1768 at the island of France where it meets Pierre Poivre (1719-1786), intendant of the colony. He takes part in the Pepper forwarding (1771-1772) intended to obtain feet of plants produisants spices (Dutch having the monopoly of their culture). Pierre Sonnerat (1748-1814) assists it during this forwarding. In 1773, he visits Madagascar and the island Bourbon. He dies, exhausted by the voyage, with the Mauritius.

Posterity

Philibert Commerson leaves many manuscripts and a very important herbarium to the national Muséum of natural history. But the history cannot return truly justice to its work because a great part among it either was lost (most of the plants which it collected in South America ever arrived), or used on their own accounts by other naturalists. Thus, its manuscripts are integrated by Lacépède (1756-1825) in its own works. As for its fish, they are found nearly 70 years, are later arranged in a case in the attic of Buffon (1707-1788), and will be finally described by André Duméril (1774-1860). Its destiny is not without pointing out that of Johann Reinhold Forster (1729-1798).

The voyage of Philibert Commerson and Jeanne Barret around the world is told in the Passage of Venus , Cartoon of Jean-Pierre Autheman and Jean-Paul Dethorey published at Dupuis. Its history also fictionalized in the book of Fanny Deschamps was entitled the Bougainvillea .

Its name was given:

With a crater of the Massive of the Piton of the Furnace, with the Meeting, a solid mass which he visited with Jean-Baptiste Lislet Geoffroy for guide.
With a bird of the family of the Strigidé S, the Small-duke of Commerson ( Mascarenotus sauzieri ).
With small a Cetacea, the Dolphin of Commerson ( Cephalorhynchus commersonii ).

Random links: