Jean Octave Edmond Perrier (9 May 1844 – 31 July 1921) was a French

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and d ...

born in

Tulle Tulle (; ) is a commune in central France. It is the third-largest town in the former region of Limousin and is the capital of the department of Corrèze, in the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Tulle is also the episcopal see of the Roman Cat ...

. He is known for his studies of invertebrates (

annelids The annelids (Annelida , from Latin ', "little ring"), also known as the segmented worms, are a large phylum, with over 22,000 extant species including ragworms, earthworms, and leeches. The species exist in and have adapted to various ecolog ...

and

echinoderms An echinoderm () is any member of the phylum Echinodermata (). The adults are recognisable by their (usually five-point) radial symmetry, and include starfish, brittle stars, sea urchins, sand dollars, and sea cucumbers, as well as the ...

). He was the brother of zoologist

Rémy Perrier Rémy Perrier (14 June 1861, Tulle – 27 June 1936, Chaunac) was a French zoologist. He was the younger brother of zoologist Edmond Perrier (1844-1921) who directed the French National Museum of Natural History from 1900 to 1919 and founded the ...

(1861–1936).

Career

On advice from

Louis Pasteur Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation and pasteurization, the latter of which was named afte ...

, he studied sciences at the

École Normale Supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, S ...

, where he took classes in

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, an ...

from

Henri de Lacaze-Duthiers Félix Joseph Henri de Lacaze-Duthiers (15 May 1821 – 21 July 1901) was a French biologist, anatomist and zoologist born in Montpezat in the department of Lot-et-Garonne. He was a leading authority in the field of malacology. He studied medic ...

(1821–1901). Afterwards he was a schoolteacher for three years at the college in

Agen The commune of Agen (, ; ) is the prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. Geography The city of Agen lies in the southwestern departme ...

. In 1869 he obtained his doctorate in

natural sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeat ...

, later replacing Lacaze-Duthiers at the École normale supérieure (1872). In 1876 he attained the chair of Natural History (

mollusks Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...

, worms and

zoophytes A zoophyte (animal-plant) is an organism thought to be intermediate between animals and plants, or an animal with plant-like attributes or appearance. In the 19th century they were reclassified as Radiata which included various taxa, a term supers ...

) at the

Muséum national d'histoire naturelle The French National Museum of Natural History, known in French as the ' (abbreviation MNHN), is the national natural history museum of France and a ' of higher education part of Sorbonne Universities. The main museum, with four galleries, is loc ...

, and in 1879 became chairman of the

Société zoologique de France La Société zoologique de France ( en, "Zoological Society of France"), founded in 1876 by Aimé Bouvier, is a scientific society devoted to Zoology. It publishes a bulletin and organises the Prix Gadeau de Kerville de la Société zoologique d ...

. In the early 1880s he participated in a series of sea expeditions, during which, he performed investigations of marine life located within the

benthic zone The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning " ...

, subsequently gaining international recognition as a specialist of marine fauna. In 1892 he became a member of the

Académie des sciences The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. It was at ...

, and even though he wasn't a doctor of medicine, he became a member of the

Académie nationale de médecine Situated at 16 Rue Bonaparte in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the Académie nationale de médecine (National Academy of Medicine) was created in 1820 by King Louis XVIII at the urging of baron Antoine Portal. At its inception, the instituti ...

(1898). From 1900 to 1919 he was director of the museum of natural history, where during the same time period (1903), he succeeded

Henri Filhol Henri Filhol Henri Filhol (13 May 1843 – 28 April 1902) was a French medical doctor, malacologist and naturalist born in Toulouse. He was the son of Édouard Filhol (1814-1883), curator of the Muséum de Toulouse. After receiving his early edu ...

(1843–1902) as chair of

comparative anatomy Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the anatomy of different species. It is closely related to evolutionary biology and phylogeny (the evolution of species). The science began in the classical era, continuing in ...

. Perrier was deeply interested in the evolutionary theories of

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...

and

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, chevalier de Lamarck (1 August 1744 – 18 December 1829), often known simply as Lamarck (; ), was a French naturalist, biologist, academic, and soldier. He was an early proponent of the idea that biolo ...

. In 1909 he was speaker at the inauguration of Lamarck's monument at the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle. He believed Lamarck to be the true founder in regards to the theory of evolution.

Selected writings

* ''Etudes sur l'organisation des Lombriciens terrestres'', 1874 – Studies on the organization of terrestrial

earthworms An earthworm is a terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. They exhibit a tube-within-a-tube body plan; they are externally segmented with corresponding internal segmentation; and they usually have setae on all segments. T ...

. * ''La Philosophie zoologique avant Darwin'', 1884 – Zoological philosophy prior to Darwin * ''Les Coralliaires et les îles Madréporiques...'', 1887 – The Coralline islands and

Madreporaria Scleractinia, also called stony corals or hard corals, are marine animals in the phylum Cnidaria that build themselves a hard skeleton. The individual animals are known as polyps and have a cylindrical body crowned by an oral disc in which a mo ...

. * ''Lamarck et le transformisme actuel'', 1893. * ''Expéditions scientifiques du Travailleur et du Talisman pendant les années 1880, 1881, 1882, 1883'' (1902) – Scientific expeditions of the ''Travailleur'' and the ''Talisman''. * ''La Femme dans la nature, dans les moeurs dans la légende, dans la société'', 1910. * ''La Terre avant l'Histoire. Les Origines de la Vie et de l'Homme'', 1920.

Founder of the Friends of the Natural History Museum

Perrier is the main founder of the

Friends of the Natural History Museum Paris The Friends of the Natural History Museum (French: Société des Amis du Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle et du Jardin des Plantes or ''Les Amis du Muséum'') is a French non-profit organisation (association loi 1901), created in 1907 and r ...

society, with

Léon Bourgeois Léon Victor Auguste Bourgeois (; 21 May 185129 September 1925) was a French statesman. His ideas influenced the Radical Party regarding a wide range of issues. He promoted progressive taxation such as progressive income taxes and social insu ...

as the first president in office from 1907 to 1922.Yves Laissus, "Cent ans d'histoire", ''1907-2007 - Les Amis du Muséum'', centennial special, September 2007, supplement to the quarterly publication '' Les Amis du Muséum national d'histoire naturelle'', n° 230, June 2007, ISSN 1161-9104 .

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Perrier, Edmond French zoologists 1844 births 1921 deaths Lamarckism Lycée Condorcet alumni Members of the Ligue de la patrie française People from Tulle École Normale Supérieure alumni Members of the French Academy of Sciences Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Commanders of the Order of Agricultural Merit National Museum of Natural History (France) people

Career

Selected writings

Founder of the Friends of the Natural History Museum

References

Further reading

External links