Eugène Bourgeau

Eugene Bourgeau

Eugène Bourgeau (1813 – 1877) was a native of Brizon in the département of Haute-Savoie in France.

Biographical information

As a young man, he worked at the botanical garden in Lyon, where his influences included Nicolas Charles Seringe and Claude Thomas Alexis Jordan.[1] In 1843 he relocated to Paris, where he was hired by Philip Barker Webb as a herbarium assistant. In 1845-46 he collected plants for the "Webb collection" in the Canary Islands.[2]

He had previously been a botanical collector in Spain, North Africa and the Canary Islands before joining the British North American Exploring Expedition of Western Canada from 1857 to 1860.[3] In Canada, he collected botanical specimens north of Lake Superior and areas around Lake Winnipeg, also journeying down the Saskatchewan River and venturing into the Rocky Mountains.[2]

Later expeditions included two trips to Asia Minor (the Lycia region and the Pontic Mountains), a journey to Spain and the Balearic Islands (1863), a scientific mission to Mexico (1865–66), and in 1870, a trip to the island of Rhodes.[1][2]

The plant genus Bourgaea was named in his honor by Ernest Cosson.[2][4] His name is also commemorated with Mount Bourgeau, a peak located in Banff National Park.

Bourgeau did not publish any botanical literature.[2] He reportedly was a terrible speller and grammarian.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Biographical Dictionary of American and Canadian Naturalists edited by Keir Brooks Sterling
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 JSTOR Global Plants (biography of Bourgeau)
  3. ↑ James Hector's Journal
  4. ↑ Index Nominum Genericorum database Bourgaea - Smithsonian Institution

External links