Charles Bouvard (1572 in Montoire– 25 October 1658) was a French

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

and

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

. Bouvard served as the physician of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

King Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown. ...

(as successor of Jean Héroard) and as the superintendent of the

Jardin des Plantes The Jardin des Plantes (, ), also known as the Jardin des Plantes de Paris () when distinguished from other ''jardins des plantes'' in other cities, is the main botanical garden in France. Jardin des Plantes is the official name in the present da ...

in Paris.

Biography

Bouvard was himself a son of a physician from his native city who taught him his profession in Bouvard's earliest childhood, yet died when Bouvard was still a small child leaving him an orphan Recognising his skill, he was brought up by Marin Liberge, a professor at the famous university of

Angers Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...

which was to be his Alma mater and the place where he received his doctor title in 1604. Shortly thereafter he came to Paris where he became a professor at the Collège Royal. Bouvard was known for using his knowledge of plants to create a number of medicines from common ordinary

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s. The flower Bouvard is most closely associated with is the

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

herb Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...

and

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

genus '' Bouvardia''. Bouvard also wrote the ''Historicae Hodiernae Medicinae Rationalis Veritatis'', a book defending medical rationalism, in 1655. pg. 290 Charles Bouvard was a close friend of

Joseph Barsalou (physician) Joseph Barsalou (1600–1660) was a French apothecary and physician. Biography Joseph Barsalou was born in Agen in the south west of France. He came from a family of apothecaries that was originally from Narbonne. Joseph Barsalou received no form ...

(1600–1660). Through their correspondence they shared ideas on medicine and treating patients with plants.

References

1572 births 1658 deaths 16th-century French physicians 17th-century French physicians French chemists {{France-med-bio-stub