Claude Sionnest

Claude Sionnest (Syonnest ou Sionnet) (1749

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

- 31 January 1820) was a French

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

. Born in a family which had traded as

pharmacists A pharmacist, also known as a chemist in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, is a healthcare professional who is knowledgeable about preparation, mechanism of action, clinical usage and legislation of medications in ...

for two centuries, had an early interest in natural sciences. After four years in the infantry, he became ''commandant de bataillon'' during the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the French First Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and Capital punishment in France, nu ...

. After 27 July 1794, he took charge of the police force in

. In 1798, Sionnest was named “physicien entomologiste’’ (medical entomologist) within the ''Société de santé'' (Health Society). In 1800, he joined the ''Agriculture Society of Lyon'' and occupied the post of treasurer for the next ten years. He was interested in

entomology Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

and published several ''memoires'' on insects harmful to

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

. Also a

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

, he particularly studied the

cryptogams A cryptogam (scientific name ''Cryptogamae'') is a plant, in the broad sense of the word, or a plant-like organism that share similar characteristics, such as being Multicellular organism, multicellular, Photosynthesis, photosynthetic, and pr ...

of leaving many new handwritten notes concerning the Scientific Classification classifying systems of Dillen,

Johannes Hedwig Johann Hedwig (8 December 1730 – 18 February 1799), also styled as Johannes Hedwig, was a German botanist notable for his studies of mosses. He is sometimes called the "father of bryology". He is known for his particular observations of sexual r ...

(1730–1799) and Beauvoir. Sionnest had also a vast

mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical mineralogy, optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifact (archaeology), artifacts. Specific s ...

collection classified according to the system of

René Just Haüy René Just Haüy () FRS MWS FRSE (28 February 1743 – 1 June 1822) was a French priest and mineralogist, commonly styled the Abbé Haüy after he was made an honorary canon of Notre-Dame de Paris, Notre Dame. Due to his innovative work on cryst ...

and essayed a mineralogical description of the department of the Rhone. But it was malacology which held all his attention. The many manuscripts which he left show that he was principally concerned to establish ‘’systematic correspondences’’ of the various species current and fossil, terrestrial, fresh-water and marine, described and illustrated in the works of Geoffroy,

Jean Louis Marie Poiret Jean Louis Marie Poiret (11 June 1755 in Saint-Quentin, Aisne, Saint-Quentin7 April 1834 in Paris) was a French clergyman, Botany, botanist, and Exploration, explorer. From 1785 to 1786, he was sent by Louis XVI of France, Louis XVI to Algeri ...

(1755–1834),

Jean-Baptiste de 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 biologi ...

(1744–1829),

George Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, baron Cuvier (23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier (; ), was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuv ...

(1769–1832),

Jacques Philippe Raymond Draparnaud Jacques Philippe Raymond Draparnaud (3 June 1772, Montpellier – 2 February 1804) was a French naturalist, malacologist and botanist. He is considered the father of malacology in France. He was professor of medicine and pathology at the Facul ...

(1772–1804) and others less famous. He created his own classifying system to arrange the molluscs in his collection, a problem since it was a very particular system opposed to that of his friend, Draparnaud. His collection included 62 species not appearing in ''l'Histoire naturelle des Mollusques terrestres et fluviatiles de la France'' (the Natural History of Terrestrial and Fluviatile Molluscs of France) of Draparnaud and was consulted by Gaspard Louis André Michaud (1795–1880) when he wrote the supplement to this work. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sionnest, Claude 1749 births 1820 deaths Conchologists French malacologists French entomologists