Felipe Poey (May 26, 1799 – January 28, 1891) was a Cuban
zoologist
Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...
.
Biography
Poey was born in
Havana
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Pau then studied law in
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
. He became a
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters.
The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...
in
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
but was forced to leave due to his liberal ideas, returning to Cuba in 1823. He began to concentrate on the study of the
natural science
Natural science or empirical 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 ...
and traveled to France in 1825 with his wife. He began writing on the
butterflies
Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...
of Cuba and acquiring knowledge on
fish
A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...
, later supplying
Georges 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 ...
and
Valenciennes
Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France.
It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...
with fish specimens from Cuba. He took part in the foundation, in 1832, of the Société Entomologique de France.
Poey returned to Cuba in 1833 where he founded the Museum of Natural History in 1839. In 1842, he became the first professor of zoology and
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 t ...
at the
University of Havana
The University of Havana (UH; ) is a public university located in the Vedado district of Havana, the capital of Cuba. Founded on 5 January 1728, the university is the oldest in Cuba, and one of the first to be founded in the Americas. Originall ...
. He also took part in the creation of the Academy of Science (natural, physical and medical) of Havana and was a president of the Anthropological Society.
Works
(selected)
*''Centurie de Lepidoptere de L'Ile de Cuba'' (Paris, 1832)
*''Compilation of Geography of the Island of Cuba'' (1836)
*''Curso de zoología, profesado en la Real Universidad de la Habana'' (Havana, 1843)
*''Memories on the Natural History of the Island of Cuba'' (1851 et 1856–1858)
*''Historia Natural de la Isla de Cuba'' (2 vols., 1860)
*''Poissons de l'île de Cuba'' (1874)
*''Ictiología Cubana'', a 20-volume work on the fishes of Cuba
*''Enumeratio piscium Cubensium'' (1875–1876)
Philately
Cuba commemorated the 175th anniversary of Poey's birth by issuing a series of six stamps and a stamp sheet in 1974. This same country celebrated the 200th anniversary of his birth by the issue of a series of four illustrated fish stamps in 1999.