Muséum national d'histoire naturelle
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The Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN) is the French national museum of natural history.
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[edit] History
The museum was formally founded on 10 June 1793, during the French Revolution. Its origins lie, however, in the Jardin royal des plantes médicinales (Royal Medicinal Plant Garden) created by King Louis XIII in 1635, which was directed and run by the royal physicians. The royal proclamation of the boy-king Louis XV on 31 March 1718, however, removed the medical function, enabling the garden—which became known simply as the Jardin du Roi (King's Garden)—to focus on natural history.
For much of the 18th century (1739–1788), the garden was under the direction of Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, one of the leading naturalists of the Enlightenment, bringing international fame and prestige to the establishment. Incorporated as the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle in 1793, opening in 1794 with, as one of its foundation professors, eminent evolutionary pioneer Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck, it continued to flourish over the next century, and, particularly under the direction of chemist Michel Eugène Chevreul, became a rival to the University of Paris in scientific research. For example, while Henri Becquerel held the chair for Applied Physics at the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle from 1892 till 1908 he discovered the radiation properties of uranium. It has to be noted that four generations of Becquerel had this position from 1838 untll 1948.[1]
A decree of 12 December 1891 ended this phase, returning the museum to an emphasis on natural history. After receiving financial autonomy in 1907, it began a new phase of growth, opening facilities throughout France during the interwar years. In recent decades, it has concentrated its research and education efforts on the effects of human exploitation on the environment. Administratively speaking, it is classed as a grand établissement of higher education.
[edit] Mission and organization
The museum has as its mission both research (fundamental and applied) and public diffusion of knowledge. It is organized into seven research and three diffusion departments. The former are Classification and Evolution; Regulation, Development, and Molecular Diversity; Aquatic Environments and Populations; Ecology and Biodiversity Management; History of Earth; Men, Nature, and Societies; and Prehistory. The latter are the Galleries of the Jardin des Plantes; Botanical Parks and Zoos; and the Museum of Man (Musée de l'Homme).
[edit] Location and branches
The museum includes sites throughout France, including the original location at the Jardin des Plantes in the Ve arrondissement in Paris (métro Place Monge). The galleries there include the Gallery of Mineralogy and Geology, the Gallery of Palaeontology and Comparative Anatomy, and the famous Grand Gallery of Evolution (Grande Galerie de l'évolution). The museum's Menagerie is also located here.
The Musée de l'Homme is also in Paris, in the XVIe arrondissement (métro Trocadéro). It houses displays in ethnography and physical anthropology, including artifacts, fossils, and other objects.
Two zoos, the Parc zoologique de Paris (also known as the Zoo de Vincennes), at the Bois de Vincennes in the XIIe arrondissement, and the Parc zoologique de Clères, at a mediæval manor in Clères (Seine-Maritime), are also part of the museum.
[edit] Directors of the Museum
Directors elected for one year:
- 1793 to 1794 : Louis Jean-Marie Daubenton.
- 1794 to 1795 : Antoine-Laurent de Jussieu.
- 1795 to 1796 : Bernard Germain Étienne de Laville-sur-Illon, comte de Lacépède.
- 1796 to 1797 : Louis Jean-Marie Daubenton.
- 1797 to 1798 : Louis Jean-Marie Daubenton.
- 1798 to 1799 : Antoine-Laurent de Jussieu.
- 1799 to 1800 : Antoine-Laurent de Jussieu.
Directors elected for two years:
- 1800 to 1801 : Antoine-François Fourcroy.
- 1802 to 1803 : René Desfontaines.
- 1804 to 1805 : Antoine-François Fourcroy.
- 1806 to 1807 : René Desfontaines.
- 1808 to 1809 : Georges Cuvier.
- 1810 to 1811 : René Desfontaines.
- 1812 to 1813 : André Laugier.
- 1814 to 1815 : André Thouin.
- 1816 to 1817 : André Thouin.
- 1818 to 1819 : André Laugier.
- 1820 to 1821 : René Desfontaines.
- 1822 to 1823 : Georges Cuvier.
- 1824 to 1825 : Louis Cordier.
- 1826 to 1827 : Georges Cuvier.
- 1828 to 1829 : René Desfontaines.
- 1830 to 1831 : Georges Cuvier.
- 1832 to 1833 : Louis Cordier.
- 1834 to 1835 : Adrien de Jussieu.
- 1836 to 1837 : Michel-Eugène Chevreul.
- 1838 to 1839 : Louis Cordier.
- 1840 to 1841 : Michel-Eugène Chevreul.
- 1842 to 1843 : Adrien de Jussieu.
- 1844 to 1845 : Michel-Eugène Chevreul.
- 1846 to 1847 : Adolphe Brongniart.
- 1848 to 1849 : Adrien de Jussieu.
- 1850 to 1851 : Michel-Eugène Chevreul.
- 1852 to 1853 : André Marie Constant Duméril.
- 1854 to 1855 : Michel-Eugène Chevreul.
- 1856 to 1857 : Marie Jean Pierre Flourens.
- 1858 to 1859 : Michel-Eugène Chevreul.
- 1860 to 1861 : Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire.
- 1862 to 1863 : Michel-Eugène Chevreul.
Directors elected for five years:
- 1863 to 1879 : Michel-Eugène Chevreul.
- 1879 to 1891 : Edmond Frémy.
- 1891 to 1900 : Alphonse Milne-Edwards.
- 1900 to 1919 : Edmond Perrier.
- 1919 to 1931 : Louis Mangin.
- 1932 to 1936 : Paul Lemoine.
- 1936 to 1942 : Louis Germain.
- 1942 to 1949 : Achille Urbain.
- 1950 to 1950 : René Jeannel.
- 1951 to 1965 : Roger Heim.
- 1966 to 1970 : Maurice Fontaine.
- 1971 to 1975 : Yves Le Grand.
- 1976 to 1985 : Jean Dorst.
- 1985 to 1990 : Philippe Taquet.
- 1994 to 1999 : Henry de Lumley.
Presidents elected for five years:
[edit] Chairs
The transformation of the Jardin from the medicinal garden of the King to a national public museum of natural history required the creation of twelve Chaired positions. Over the ensuing years the number of Chairs and their subject areas evolved, some being subdivided into two positions and others removed. (These titles have been translated from the French. For the original French designations, see the French Wikipedia page on the same subject by clicking the word "français" in the lefthand margin of this page).
- Animal Anatomy
- 1793 to 1802 : Jean-Claude Mertrud.
- 1802 to 1832 : Georges Cuvier. This Chair was renamed Comparative Anatomy.
- Comparative Anatomy
- 1832 to 1850 : Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville.
- 1850 to 1855 : Louis Georges Duvernoy.
- 1855 to 1868 : Antoine Serres.
- 1868 to 1879 : Paul Gervais.
- 1879 to 1894 : Georges Pouchet.
- 1894 to 1902 : Henri Filhol.
- 1903 to 1921 : Edmond Perrier.
- 1922 to 1941 : Raoul Anthony.
- 1942 : Empty.
- 1943 to 1960 : Jacques Millot.
- 1961 : Empty.
- 1962 to 1984 : Jean Anthony.
- 1984 to ???? : Empty.
- Comparative Anatomy
- Human Anatomy
- 1793 to 1832 : Antoine Portal.
- 1832 to 1838 : Pierre Flourens. This Chair was renamed Anatomy and Natural History of Man.
- Anatomy and Natural History of Man
- 1839 to 1855 : Antoine Serres. This Chair was renamed Anthropology.
- Anthropology
- 1855 to 1892 : Jean Louis Armand de Quatrefages de Bréau.
- 1892 to 1908 : Ernest Hamy.
- 1909 to 1927 : René Verneau.
- 1928 to 1936 : Paul Rivet. This Chair was renamed Ethnology of Modern Man and Fossilized Man when the Musée de l'Homme was created.
- Anthropology
- 1839 to 1855 : Antoine Serres. This Chair was renamed Anthropology.
- Anatomy and Natural History of Man
- Comparative Physiology
- 1837-1838 : Frédéric Cuvier
- 1838-1867 : Pierre Flourens. This Chair was exchanged with the Chair of General Physiology by the faculty of Sciences in Paris.
- Chemistry
- 1779 to 1793 : Antoine-Louis Brongniart.
- 1804 to 1830 : Louis-Nicolas Vauquelin.
- 1830 to 1850 : Michel-Eugène Chevreul. This Chair was renamed Chemistry as Applied to Organic Compounds (Organic Chemistry).
- Chemistry as Applied to Organic Compounds
- 1850 to 1889 : Michel-Eugène Chevreul.
- General Chemistry
- 1793 to 1809 : Antoine-François Fourcroy.
- 1809 to 1811 : unknown.
- 1811 to 1832 : André Laugier.
- 1832 to 1850 : Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac. This Chair was renamed Chemistry as Applied to Inorganic Compounds.
- Chemistry as Applied to Inorganic Compounds
- 1850 to 1892 : Edmond Frémy. This Chair was removed.
- Chemistry as Applied to Inorganic Compounds
- Plants in the Countryside (literal translation)
- 1793 to 1826 : Antoine-Laurent de Jussieu.
- 1826 to 1853 : Adrien de Jussieu. This Chair was removed and replaced by the Chair of Paleontology.
- Botany in the Museum
- 1793 to 1833 : René Desfontaines.
- 1833 to 1857 : Adolphe Brongniart. This Chair was renamed Botany and Plant Physiology
- Botany and Plant Physiology
- 1857 to 1874 : Adolphe Brongniart. This Chair was renamed Botany, Organology and Plant Physiology.
- Botany, Organology and Plant Physiology
- 1857 to 1874 : Adolphe Brongniart. This Chair was renamed Botany, Organology and Plant Physiology.
- Plant Physics
- Botany and Plant Physiology
- Botany (Classification and Natural Families)
- 1874 to 1905 : Édouard Bureau. After the creation of the Chair of Botany (Classification and Natural Families of Cryptogams), this Chair was reduced to the Phanerogams (Spermatophytes).
- Botany (Classification and Natural Families of Phanerogams
- Botany (Classification and Natural Families of Cryptogams
- 1874 to 1905 : Édouard Bureau. After the creation of the Chair of Botany (Classification and Natural Families of Cryptogams), this Chair was reduced to the Phanerogams (Spermatophytes).
- Horticulture (Agriculture and Culture of Gardens, Vineyards and Orchards)
- 1793 to 1824 : André Thouin.
- 1825 to 1828 : Louis-Augustin Bosc d’Antic.
- 1828 to 1850 : Charles-François Brisseau de Mirbel.
- 1850 to 1882 : Joseph Decaisne.
- 1883 : unknown.
- 1884 to 1901 : Maxime Cornu.
- 1901 to 1919 : Julien Costantin.
- 1920 to 1932 : Désiré Bois.
- 1932 to 1956 : André Guillaumin.
- 1956 to 1956 : unknown. This Chair was renamed Applied Plant Biology.
- Ecology and the Protection of Nature
- Zoology (Quadrupeds, Cetacea, Birds, Reptiles, Fish)
- 1793 to 1794 : Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire. This Chair was subdivided into two Chairs :
- Zoology (Mammals and Birds)
- 1794 to 1841 : Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire.
- 1841 to 1861 : Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire.
- 1862 to 1876 : Henri Milne Edwards.
- 1876 to 1900 : Alphonse Milne-Edwards.
- 1900 to 1906 : Émile Oustalet.
- 1906 to 1926 : Édouard Trouessart.
- 1926 to 1947 : Édouard Bourdelle.
- 1948 : unknown.
- 1949 to 1962 : Jacques Berlioz.
- 1963 : unknown.
- 1964 to ??? : Jean Dorst.
- Zoology (Reptiles and Fish)
- 1795 to 1825 : Bernard Germain Étienne de Laville-sur-Illon, comte de Lacépède. (N.b. 1825 is the year of Lacépède’s death, but actually Duméril replaced him in the Chair of Zoology as early as 1803 because Lacépède, who was occupied with his political appointments, relinquished his Professorship.
- 1825 to 1857 : André Marie Constant Duméril.
- 1857 to 1870 : Auguste Duméril.
- 1870 to 1875 : Émile Blanchard (who held the Chair during a period of transition).
- 1875 to 1909 : Léon Vaillant.
- 1910 to 1937 : Louis Roule.
- 1937 to 1943 : Jacques Pellegrin.
- 1944 to 1956 : Léon Bertin.
- 1957 to 1975 : Jean Guibé. This Chair was subdivided: The Fish were transferred to the Chair of Dynamics of Aquatic Populations and became the Chair of General and Applied Ichthyology. This Chair was then renamed Zoology (Reptiles and Amphibians).
- Zoology (Mammals and Birds)
- 1793 to 1794 : Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire. This Chair was subdivided into two Chairs :
Zoology (Insects, Worms and Microscopic Animals) [2]
-
- 1793 to 1829: Jean-Baptist de Lamarck. With his death, this Chair was subdivided into two Chairs:
- Natural History of Shellfish, Arachnids and the Insects or Articulated Animals
- 1830 to 1833 : Pierre André Latreille.
- 1833 to 1841 : Victor Audouin.
- 1841 to 1862 : Henri Milne Edwards.
- 1864 to 1894 : Émile Blanchard.
- 1895 to 1917 : Louis Bouvier. This Chair is then restricted to only Insects and is renamed Entomology.
- Entomology
- 1917 to 1931 : Louis Bouvier.
- 1931 to 1950 : René Jeannel.
- 1951 to 1955 : Lucien Chopard.
- 1956 to 1960 : Eugène Séguy.
- 1961 : unknown.
- 1962 to 1963 : Alfred Balachowsky. This Chair is renamed General and Applied Entomology.
- General and Applied Entomology
- 1963 to 1974 : Alfred Balachowsky.
- 1975 to 1987 : Jacques Carayon.
- 1987 to 2000 : Claude Caussanel.
- 2000 to 2001 : Loïc Matile.
- General and Applied Entomology
- Entomology
- Natural History of Mollusks, Worms and Zoophytes
- 1830 to 1832 : Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville.
- 1832 to 1865 : Achille Valenciennes.
- 1865 to 1869 : Henri de Lacaze-Duthiers.
- 1869 to 1875 : Paul Deshayes.
- 1876 to 1903 : Edmond Perrier.
- 1903 to 1917 : Louis Joubin. This Chair is then restricted to Mollusks and Zoophytes is renamed Malacology.
- Zoology (Worms and Crustaceans)
- Natural History of Shellfish, Arachnids and the Insects or Articulated Animals
- 1793 to 1829: Jean-Baptist de Lamarck. With his death, this Chair was subdivided into two Chairs:
- Entomology of Colonial Agriculture
- Mineralogy
- 1793 to 1800 : Louis Jean-Marie Daubenton.
- 1800 to 1802 : Déodat Gratet de Dolomieu.
- 1802 to 1822 : René Just Haüy.
- 1822 to 1847 : Alexandre Brongniart.
- 1847 to 1857 : Armand Dufrénoy.
- 1857 to 1876 : Gabriel Delafosse.
- 1876 to 1892 : Alfred Des Cloizeaux.
- 1893 to 1936 : Alfred Lacroix.
- 1937 to 1967 : Jean Orcel.
- 1968 to ??? : Jacques Fabriès.
- Geology
- Physics as Applied to the Natural Sciences
- 1838 to 1877 : Antoine-César Becquerel.
- 1878 to 1891 : Edmond Becquerel.
- 1892 to 1908 : Henri Becquerel.
- 1909 to 1948 : Jean Becquerel.
- 1949 to 1977 : Yves Le Grand. This Chair was then combined with the Chair of Physical-Chemistry of Biological Adaptation.
- Natural Iconography or the Art of Drawing and Painting all the Things of Nature
- 1793 to 1822 Gérard van Spaendonck. This Chair is then removed.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ A. Allisy (1996). "Henri Becquerel: The Discovery of Radioactivity". Radiation Protection Dosimetry 68: 3-10.
- ^ See: Jean Lhoste (1987), French entomologists (1750-1950). Editions INRA/OPIE. (In French)
[edit] External links
- MNHN official website (English version)
- Muséum national d'histoire naturelle is at coordinates Coordinates:
- Popular and unofficial site (French only)