Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré (September 4, 1789 – January 16, 1854) was a French

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

Biography

Gaudichaud was born in

Angoulême Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; oc, Engoleime) is a commune, the prefecture of the Charente department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Angoumoisins ...

, to J-J. Gaudichaud and Rose (Mallat) Gaudichaud. He studied

pharmacology Pharmacology is a branch of medicine, biology and pharmaceutical sciences concerned with drug or medication action, where a drug may be defined as any artificial, natural, or endogenous (from within the body) molecule which exerts a biochemica ...

informally at

Cognac Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cognac production falls under French appella ...

and Angoulême, and then under Robiquet in Paris, where he acquired a knowledge of botany from

Desfontaines Desfontaines is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * François-Georges Fouques Deshayes (known as Desfontaines-Lavallée or Desfontaines, 1733-1825), French writer and playwright. * Henri Desfontaines (1876-1931), French film dire ...

and Louis Richard. In April 1810 he was appointed

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...

in the military marine, and from July 1811 to the end of 1814 he served in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

. He also studied

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, proper ...

and herbology. His greatest claim to fame was serving as botanist on a circumglobal expedition from 1817 to 1820. He accompanied Freycinet, who made the expedition on the ships ''Uranie'' and ''Physicienne''. The wreck of the ''Uranie'' in the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...

, at the close of 1819, deprived him of more than half the botanical collections he had made in various parts of the world. He is also known for his collections in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. In 1831 Gaudichaud sailed on ''L'Herminie'' to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

, visiting

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

. In 1836 he undertook a third voyage, circumnavigating the globe on ''La Bonite''. He died in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

Legacy

Gaudichaud is commemorated in the scientific names of two species of South American lizards, '' Ecpleopus gaudichaudii'' and the '' Chilean marked gecko''. Two Hawaiian species of flowering plant, in the genus Scaevola are named after him, Scaevola gaudichaudiana, and Scaevola gaudichaudii . As well as a genus of plants (in the family

Malpighiaceae Malpighiaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. It comprises about 73 genera and 1315 species, all of which are native to the tropics and subtropics. About 80% of the genera and 90% of the species occur in the New Wor ...

) '' Gaudichaudia'' which comes from South America. He wrote various treatises, with memoirs on potato blight, the multiplication of bulbous plants, the increase in diameter of

dicotyledon The dicotyledons, also known as dicots (or, more rarely, dicotyls), are one of the two groups into which all the flowering plants (angiosperms) were formerly divided. The name refers to one of the typical characteristics of the group: namely, t ...

ous plants, and other subjects.

Principal works

*''Flore des îles Malouines'' (''Flora of the Falkland Islands'') *''Mémoire sur les Cycadées'' (''Treatise on the Cycads'') *''Voyage de l'Uranie'' (''Voyage of the Uranus'') *''Lettre sur l'organographie et la physiologie'', addressed to Monsieur de Mirbel, in ''Archives de Botanique'', T. II, 1833 (''Letter on Oceanography and Physiology'') *''Recherches générales sur l'organographie'' (''General Research on Oceanography'') *''Mémoire sur le Cissus hydrophora'' (''Treatise on Cissus hydrophora'') *''Voyage Autour du Monde Executé pendant les années 1836 et 1837 sur la corvette La Bonite'' (''Voyage of the Bonita'') *''Notes relatives à l'organographie et à la physiologie des végétaux monocotylés''

References

External links

Voyage de l'Uranie, Botanique
At
Biodiversity Heritage Library

Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré , Botanical Cabinet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaudichaud-Beaupre, Charles 1789 births 1854 deaths Members of the French Academy of Sciences Botanists active in Australia French phycologists Bryologists Pteridologists Botanists with author abbreviations 19th-century French botanists French mycologists