Charles Lucien Bonaparte

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Charles Lucien Bonaparte
Charles Lucien Bonaparte
Charles Lucien Bonaparte
Born May 24, 1803
Died July 29, 1857
Nationality French
Fields naturalist

Charles Lucien (Carlo) Jules Laurent Bonaparte, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano (May 24, 1803 – July 29, 1857) was a French naturalist and ornithologist. He was the son of Lucien Bonaparte and nephew of Emperor Napoleon.

Bonaparte was raised in Italy and, after his marriage to his cousin Zenaida on June 29, 1822 in Brussels, travelled to the United States. Before leaving Italy he had already discovered a warbler new to science, the Moustached Warbler, and on the voyage he collected specimens of a new storm-petrel. On arrival in the United States he presented a paper on this new bird, which was later named after Alexander Wilson.

Bonaparte then set about updating Wilson's American Ornithology, and the revised edition was published between 1825 and 1833. In 1824 Bonaparte tried to get the then unknown John James Audubon accepted by the Academy of Natural Sciences, but this was opposed by the ornithologist George Ord.

At the end of 1826 Bonaparte and his family returned to Europe. He visited Germany, where he met Philipp Jakob Cretzschmar, and England, where he met John Edward Gray at the British Museum, and renewed his acquaintance with Audubon. In 1828 the family settled in Rome. Between 1832 and 1841 Bonaparte published his work on the animals of Italy, Iconografia della Fauna Italica.

In 1849 he was elected to the Roman Assembly and participated in the creation of the Roman Republic. According to Jasper Ridley, when the Assembly convened for the first time: "When the name of Carlo Bonaparte, who was a member for Viterbo, was called, he replied to the roll-call by calling out Long live the Republic!" [Viva la Repubblica!] [Jasper Ridley, Garibaldi, Viking Press (1976) p. 268]. He participated in the defense of Rome against the 40,000 French troops sent by his cousin Louis Napoleon. He left Rome after the Republican army was defeated in July 1849. He landed at Marseilles but was ordered to leave the country by Louis Napoleon.

He travelled to England, attending the meeting of the British Association in Birmingham. He then visited Sir William Jardine in southern Scotland. Charles then began work on preparing a methodical classification of all the birds in the world, visiting museums across Europe to study the collections. During this time he was allowed to return to France, and he made Paris his home for the rest of his life. He published the first volume of his Conspectus Generum Avium before his death, the second volume being edited by Hermann Schlegel.

[edit] References

Resources
American Ornithology, or, The Natural History of Birds Inhabiting the United States...by Bonaparte, Charles-Lucian. Four volumes published initially in Philadelphia between 1825-1833. http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/DLDecArts.AmOrnBon

Charles Lucien Bonaparte
Born: 24 May 1803 Died: 29 July 1857
Titles of nobility
Preceded by
Lucien I		 Prince of Canino and Musignano
1840–1857		 Succeeded by
Joseph