Rene Verneau

Rene Verneau , Anthropologue French is born with the Vault-on-Loire in 1852 and dies in Paris in 1938.

Its life is marked by a passion without fault for the Canary islands, with which it maintained the close links: it will not go less than six times in the archipelago during its long existence.

Resulting from a family of the provincial lower middle class, it is interested very early in the Botanique, collects the stones and the insects, and assembles even its own chemistry laboratory.

In 1870, it enters to the Sorbonne to study the Médecine there. But it must very quickly stop its studies, because of the Franco-German Guerre. Influenced by the ideas of Gobineau, it reads works of Quatrefages and Broca, which decides it to turn definitively to the Anthropologie.

In 1874, Verneau starts to work like auxiliary, with the Muséum of Natural history of Paris.

But the turning of its life takes place in 1876, when the Ministry for the State education organizes a forwarding with the Canary islands. It is about a voyage to the rather modest budget, intended to gather various scientific informations on the archipelago, still badly known in France. More precisely, the objective is to find bones making it possible to operate a bringing together between the first inhabitants of the Canary islands and the man of Cro-Magnon, which one has just discovered in South-west. The Muséum of Natural history calls upon Verneau for this forwarding. Eager to discover the world, impassioned by the scientific innovations as well as his contemporary and (almost) homonymous Jules Verne, Rene Verneau accepts the proposal of the Museum.

In 1876-1877, Rene Verneau remains for the first time in the Canary islands. To the autumn of 1877, it returns to Paris where it presents his report/ratio to the Ministry for the State education. In 1879, Verneau is named full professor with the Muséum of Natural history.

September 2nd of the same year, is born at Las Palmas Museo Canario. Rene Verneau is named member of honor of this institution, at the same time as Sabin Berthelot and Quatrefages.

Between 1884 and 1887, Rene Verneau returns to the Canaries to accomplish there his more long voyage. During these almost four years, the scientist visits all the islands and benefits from his stay to learn Spanish, whom he will never speak however perfectly.

In 1891, Verneau publishes in Paris: Five years of stay in the Canary islands . Work is very well accommodated by the public.

In 1901, Rene Verneau becomes Directeur of the Museum of Ethnography of Paris, after having worked there during four years like conservative. He gives also courses of Anthropologie to the National institute of Paléontologie. He is with the apogee of his career.

From 1910, Verneau devotes the essence of its research to the question of the expansion of the man of Cro-Magnon in North Africa (Morocco, Algérie, Tunisia). With this intention, it carries out many voyages. In 1926, it publishes its most known work: origins of Humanity. But all these activities does not make him lose for as much contact with the Canary islands: it continues for example to correspond regularly with Museo Canario.

In 1932, the Management of the museum invites Rene Verneau, then with the retirement, to come to Large Canarie. It accepts the proposal and spends several months in the island, lodged by the institution.

The last voyage of Verneau in the Canary islands takes place in 1935. It is invited once again by Museo Canario. The anthropologist, although weakened by the age, brings up to date the files of the museum and reorganizes the funds. Once its completed work, Rene Verneau greets last once his/her friends Canarian and returns to France.

He dies in Paris in 1938, at the 85 years age.

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