
Pierre Magnol (8 June 1638 – 21 May 1715)
was a
French 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 was born in the city of
Montpellier
Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...
, where he lived and worked for most of his life. He became Professor of Botany and Director of the Royal Botanic Garden of Montpellier and held a seat in the
Académie Royale des Sciences de Paris for a short while. He was one of the innovators who devised the botanical scheme of classification. He was the first to publish the concept of plant families as they are understood today, a natural classification of groups of plants that have features in common.
Youth and education
Pierre Magnol was born into a family of apothecaries (pharmacists). His father Claude ran a pharmacy as did his grandfather Jean Magnol. Pierre's mother was from a family of physicians. Pierre's older brother Cesar succeeded his father in the pharmacy. Pierre, being one of the younger children, had more freedom to choose his own profession, and wanted to become a physician.
He had become devoted to natural history and especially botany at an early stage in his life.
He enrolled as a student in medicine at the
University of Montpellier
The University of Montpellier () is a public university, public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous opera ...
on 19 May 1655.
By Magnol's time the city of Montpellier was already long established as an important commercial and educational centre. The
University of Montpellier
The University of Montpellier () is a public university, public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous opera ...
was the first French university to establish a botanic garden, donated in 1593 by King
Henry IV of France
Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...
for the study of medicine and pharmacology. Its medical school attracted students from all over Europe. Individuals well-known in medicine and botany such as
Leonhart Fuchs
Leonhart Fuchs (; 17 January 1501 – 10 May 1566), sometimes spelled Leonhard Fuchs and cited in Latin as ''Leonhartus Fuchsius'', was a German physician and botanist. His chief notability is as the author of a large book about plants and thei ...
(1501–1566),
Guillaume Rondelet (1507–1566),
Charles de l'Ecluse (1526–1609),
Pierre Richer de Belleval (c. 1564–1632), and the great writer (and doctor)
François Rabelais
François Rabelais ( , ; ; born between 1483 and 1494; died 1553) was a French writer who has been called the first great French prose author. A Renaissance humanism, humanist of the French Renaissance and Greek scholars in the Renaissance, Gr ...
(c. 1493–1553), all studied at this university.
So it was in one of the intellectual and botanical capitals that Magnol took his education. He got his doctor's degree (M.D.) on 11 January 1659.
After receiving his degree, his attention once again shifted to botany, this time even more seriously.
Religion
Montpellier was a bastion of
Protestantism
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
and Magnol was raised in the tradition of
Calvinism
Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyteri ...
. At that time,
Roman Catholicism
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
was the official state church, but since the
Edict of Nantes
The Edict of Nantes () was an edict signed in April 1598 by Henry IV of France, King Henry IV and granted the minority Calvinism, Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was predominantl ...
(1598), Protestants officially had religious freedom and the right to work in any field or for the state. The edict did not end religious persecution and discrimination. In his life, Magnol was several times denied a position because of religious discrimination. With the
revocation of the Edict of Nantes
The Edict of Fontainebleau (18 October 1685, published 22 October 1685) was an edict issued by French King Louis XIV and is also known as the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The Edict of Nantes (1598) had granted Huguenots the right to pra ...
in 1685, Magnol renounced Protestantism and converted to Catholicism.
Career
In December 1663 Magnol received the honorary title ''brevet de médecine royal'' through mediation of
Antoine Vallot
Antoine Vallot (born in Arles in 1594 or 1595; died on 9 August 1671 at the Royal Garden in Paris) was a French medical doctor. He was First Physician to King Louis XIV. Antoine Vallot had succeeded François Vautier, or Vaultier, as the king's fi ...
, an influential physician of the king. No means of his financial stability are mentioned (Magnol did not have a wealthy family to support him) but it is suggested that he was practicing medicine and had an income out of that. From 1659 on he devoted much of his time to the study of botany and made several trips through the
Languedoc
The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) is a former province of France.
Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately .
History
...
, the
Provence
Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...
, to the
Alps
The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia.
...
and to the
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...
. In 1664 there was a vacancy for 'Demonstrator of plants' in Montpellier and Magnol was proposed for the position. He was denied the appointment because of religious discrimination. This happened again in 1667 when he was the leading candidate for the chair of Professor of medicine.
Meanwhile Magnol had contacts with many prominent botanist and was highly esteemed by his contemporaries. He corresponded with
John Ray
John Ray Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (November 29, 1627 – January 17, 1705) was a Christian England, English Natural history, naturalist widely regarded as one of the earliest of the English parson-naturalists. Until 1670, he wrote his ...
,
William Sherard and
James Petiver (England),
Paul Hermann and
Petrus Houttuyn (
Leiden
Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...
),
Jan Commelin
Jan Commelin (23 April 1629 – 19 January 1692), also known as Jan Commelijn, Johannes Commelin or Johannes Commelinus, was a botanist, and was the son of historian Isaac Commelin; his brother Casparus was a bookseller and newspaper publisher. J ...
(Amsterdam),
J.H. Lavater (
Zürich
Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
) and
J. Salvador (
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
), among others.
In 1687, after his conversion to Catholicism, Magnol eventually became 'Demonstrator of plants' at the botanic garden of Montpellier. In 1693, recommended by
Guy-Crescent Fagon (1638–1718), then court physician, and his own student
Joseph Pitton de Tournefort
Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (5 June 165628 December 1708) was a French botanist, notable as the first to make a clear definition of the concept of genus for plants. Botanist Charles Plumier was his pupil and accompanied him on his voyages.
Li ...
(1656–1708), he was nominated 'doctor to the kings court'. In 1694 he finally was appointed Professor of medicine at the University of Montpellier. Through intervention of Fagon, he received a ''brevet de professeur royale''. Magnol was also appointed Director of the botanic garden in 1696, for a three-year period. After that, he received the title 'Inspector of the garden' for the rest of his life.
Magnol was one of the founding members of the Société Royale des Sciences de Montpellier (1706) and held one of the three chairs in botany. In 1709 he was called to Paris to occupy the seat in the
Académie Royale des Sciences de Paris that was left empty when his former student Joseph Pitton de Tournefort died prematurely.
Among Magnol's students were Tournefort and the brothers
Antoine
Antoine is a French language, French given name (from the Latin ''Antonius'' meaning 'highly praise-worthy') that is a variant of Danton (name), Danton, Titouan, D'Anton and Antonin.
The name is most common in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada ...
and
Bernard de Jussieu
Bernard de Jussieu (; 17 August 1699 – 6 November 1777) was a French naturalist, younger brother of Antoine de Jussieu.
Bernard de Jussieu was born in Lyon. He took a medical degree at Montpellier and began practice in 1720, but finding the wo ...
.
Major contribution to science
Magnol's most important contribution to science is without doubt the invention of the concept of plant families, a natural classification, based on combinations of morphological characters, as set out in his ''Prodromus historiae generalis plantarum, in quo familiae plantarum per tabulas disponuntur'' (1689) (See under
major works). His work may be regarded as one of the first steps towards the composition of a tree of life. In his ''Prodromus'' he developed 76 tables, which not only grouped plants into families but also allowed for an easy and rapid identification by means of the morphological characters, the same he used to compose the groups (Magnol, 1689).
Major works
1676, ''Botanicum Monspeliense, sive Plantarum circa Monspelium nascentium index.'' Lyon.
1686, ''Botanicum Monspeliense, sive Plantarum circa Monspelium nascentium index. Adduntur variarum plantarum descriptiones et icones. Cum appendice quae plantas de novo repertas continet et errata emendat.'' Montpellier. [Flora of Montpellier, or rather a list of the plants growing around Montpellier, with descriptions and plates of several plants added. With an appendix that contains plants newly found and corrects previous errors]
1689, ''Prodromus historiae generalis plantarum, in quo familiae plantarum per tabulas disponuntur.'' Montpellier. [Precursor to a general history of plants, in which the families of plants are arranged in tables]
1697, ''Hortus regius Monspeliense, sive Catalogus plantarum quae in Horto Regio Monspeliensi demonstrantur.'' Montpellier.
he royal garden of Montpellier, or rather a catalogue of the plants that are on show in the royal garden of Montpellier
1720, ''Novus caracter''
ic''plantarum, in duo tractatus divisus: primus, de herbis & subfructibus, secundus, de fructibus & arboribus.'' Montpellier, posthumous edition, attended to by his son,
Antoine Magnol (1676–1759).
ew character of plants, divided into two treatises: the first on herbs and small shrublike plants, the second on shrubs and trees
Eponymy
In 1703
Charles Plumier (1646–1704) named a flowering tree from the island of
Martinique
Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...
''
Magnolia
''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendr ...
'', after Magnol.
[ ew genera of American plants Plumier honored several other notable persons by naming genera of plants after them. p.38] The name was later adopted by
William Sherard, when he did the nomenclatural parts of ''Hortus Elthamensis'' by
Johann Jacob Dillenius
Johann Jacob Dillen Dillenius (1684 – 2 April 1747) was a German botanist. He is known for his ''Hortus Elthamensis'' ("Eltham Garden") on the rare plants around Eltham, London, and for his ''Historia muscorum'' ("History of Mosses"), a natu ...
, and ''The Natural History of Carolina'' by
Mark Catesby
Mark Catesby (24 March 1683 – 23 December 1749) was an English natural history, naturalist who studied the flora and fauna of the New World. Between 1729 and 1747, Catesby published his ''Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama ...
, to denote a flowering tree now known as ''
Magnolia virginiana
''Magnolia virginiana'', most commonly known as sweetbay magnolia, or merely sweetbay (also laurel magnolia, swampbay, swamp magnolia, white bay, or beaver tree), is a member of the magnolia family, Magnoliaceae. It was the first magnolia to be ...
'', taking it for the same species as that described by Plumier.
Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...
took over this name in the first edition of ''
Species plantarum
' (Latin for "The Species of Plants") is a book by Carl Linnaeus, originally published in 1753, which lists every species of plant known at the time, classified into genus, genera. It is the first work to consistently apply binomial nomenclature ...
'', including references to both Plumier's and Sherard's names. In this way, ''Magnolia'' became the generally recognized name of a large genus of ornamental flowering trees.
Notes and references
*
External links
* http://web.clas.ufl.edu/users/rhatch/pages/03-Sci-Rev/SCI-REV-Home/resource-ref-read/major-minor-ind/westfall-dsb/SAM-M.htm
* https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6244284d/f33.item.texteImage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magnol, Pierre
17th-century French botanists
Converts to Roman Catholicism from Calvinism
Botanists active in Europe
Members of the French Academy of Sciences
Scientists from Montpellier
1638 births
1715 deaths