Frédéric Courtois (; 1860–1928) was a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

and

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 ...

. Frédéric Courtois was a missionary in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

from 1901 until his death. He directed Musée Heude in

Xujiahui Xujiahui (, , romanized as: Zikawei, Ziccawei, or Siccawei) is a locality in Shanghai. It is a historic area of commerce and culture administratively within Xuhui District, which is named after the locality. The area is a well-known precinct for s ...

. Courtois was primarily interested in

ornithology Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

and

botany 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 ...

. From 1906 to 1928, he organized expeditions in the provinces of

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

and the mountains of

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

and the

Huangshan Huangshan ( zh, s=黄山),Bernstein, pp. 125–127. literally meaning the Yellow Mountain(s), is a mountain range in southern Anhui province in eastern China. It was originally called "Yishan", and it was renamed because of a legend that Em ...

range. On these expeditions, he brought back some 40,000 specimens. His Anhui plant collection was published in 1933 by his successor, Henry Belval. In 1923

Auguste Ménégaux Henri Auguste Ménégaux (17 May 1857 – 15 July 1937) was a French ornithology, ornithologist and malacology, malacologist born in Audincourt. He was based at the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle in Paris. From 1910, with Louis Denise ( ...

gave the scientific name ''Garrulax courtoisi'' to the

blue-crowned laughingthrush The blue-crowned laughingthrush or Courtois's laughingbird (''Pterorhinus courtoisi'') is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is now found only in Jiangxi, China. Until recently, this critically endangered species was generally tre ...

in his honor.

Works

*1912. Catalogue des oiseaux du Musée de Zi-Kia-Wei (Xujiahui) ''Mém. Hist. Nat. Emp. Chinois'', 5 (3) : 1-98. *1927. Les oiseaux du musée de Zi-Kia-Wei ''Mém . Hist. Nat. Chine'', 5 (3), 5e fasc.:123-159.

References

*Bo Beolens et Michael Watkins (2003).''Whose Bird ? Common Bird Names and the People They Commemorate''. Yale University Press (New Haven et Londres) : 400 p. *Borrell, Octavius William, 1991 A short history of the Heude Museum "Musee Heude'': its botanist and plant collectors ''Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch'' Vol. 31 (1991 )ISSN 1991-729

French naturalists French ornithologists 19th-century French botanists 1928 deaths 1860 births Missionary botanists 20th-century French botanists {{ornithologist-stub