Bory de Saint-Vincent, Jean Baptiste George Marcellin (1778 – 1846)

Born 6 July 1778 at Agen, died 22 December 1846.

He was a French naturalist. (His personal name is variously reported, including "Jean Baptiste Marcellin" and "Jean Baptiste George Marie".)

He was born at Agen. He was sent as naturalist with Captain Nicolas Baudin's expedition to Australia in 1798, but left the vessel at Mauritius, and spent two years in exploring Réunion and other islands in the Indian Ocean. Joining the army on his return, he was present at the battle of Ulm and battle of Austerlitz, and in 1808 went to Spain with Marshal Soult.

In 1815, he supported Napoleon and opposed the Bourbons. Consequently he was proscribed after the Bourbon restoration. But after several years of exile, he was allowed to return quietly to Paris in 1820. In 1829 he headed a scientific expedition to the Peloponnese, and in 1839 he had charge of the exploration of Algeria.

He was editor of the Dictionnaire classique d'histoire naturelle (Classical Dictionary of Natural History).

Source: Wikipedia Feb. 2011
Portrait Photo: Maiden, J.H. (1910) Records of earlier French botanists as regards Australian plants, J. Proc. Roy. Soc. NSW, 44, plates.