Pierre Jean-Louis Dangeard (18 February 1895 in
Poitiers
Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...
,
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 ...
– 23 August 1970 in
Pléneuf-Val-André, France) 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 the son of botanist and
mycologist
Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their taxonomy, genetics, biochemical properties, and use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, and ...
Pierre Augustin Dangeard and brother of
geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...
and
oceanographer,
Louis Dangeard.
Biography
Pierre Dangeard was born on 18 February 1895 in
Poitiers, France. Four years earlier his father had relocated from
Caen
Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...
to take up a botany professorship at the ''Académie des Sciences'', the scientific faculty of the
University of Poitiers
The University of Poitiers (UP; , ) is a public university located in Poitiers, France. It is a member of the Coimbra Group. It is multidisciplinary and contributes to making Poitiers the city with the highest student/inhabitant ratio in France ...
, and a year after his move, had married the 20-year-old Henriette Louise Labrosse. Dangeard was the second of four siblings. His elder brother Henri died in 1899 at the age of six. Pierre thus became the eldest of the children and followed in his father's footsteps to become a botanist.
In 1909 the family moved to Paris after Dangeard's father was offered and accepted a position at the prestigious ''Académie des Sciences''. After receiving a
baccalaureate, Dangeard began to study biology at the
University of Paris
The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...
. In 1914 he finished with the ''license''. From 1915 to 1918 Dangeard fought in the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and was wounded. In 1922 he was appointed a member of the
Legion of Honor
The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...
. After his military service and his recovery Dangeard continued his nature studies. In 1923 he received a
doctorate
A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...
and published his
doctoral thesis
A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...
in his father's magazine ''Le Botaniste''.
In October 1924 Dangeard was married to Madeleine Colin (1899–1944). They had one daughter, Geneviéve. However, Colin wife died in 1944. Three years later, in March 1947, Dangeard married again, this time to Anne Marie Coville (1908–1998) with whom he had a son, Bernard.
After earning his PhD, Dangeard remained in Paris and in 1928 received an appointment as an assistant at the Faculty of Science, later graduating to a professorship chair of botany in 1932 at the ''Faculte des Sciences'' of the
University of Bordeaux
The University of Bordeaux (, ) is a public research university based in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France.
It has several campuses in the cities and towns of Bordeaux, Dax, Gradignan, Périgueux, Pessac, and Talence. There are al ...
. Dangeard specialized in
marine algae
Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean.
Marine or marines may refer to:
Ocean
* Maritime (disambiguation)
* Marine art
* Marine biology
* Marine current power
* Marine debris
* Marine energy
* Marine habitats
* M ...
. He took part in various marine expeditions conducted by
Jean Charcot and his research vessel
Pourquoi pas?. He is thought to have worked closely with his brother, geologist and oceanographer
Louis Dangeard, who also took part in marine expeditions.
After his retirement from the chair of the Department of Botany at Bordeaux University, Dangeard lived in
Pléneuf-Val-André,
Brittany
Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
. He died on 23 August 1970 at the age of 75.
Memberships and honors
Dangeard was member of such
scientific societies as:
* 1922 Member of the
Légion d'honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
* 1929 Prix Montagne
* 1935 Prix Desmazières Acad. Sci.
* 1948 Corresponding member of the
French Academy of Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences (, ) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...
* 1964 Member of the French Academy of Sciences
In 2002, botanist
Thomas Friedl and
Charles J. O'Kelly,
circumscribed ''
Dangemannia'', which is a
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of
green algae
The green algae (: green alga) are a group of chlorophyll-containing autotrophic eukaryotes consisting of the phylum Prasinodermophyta and its unnamed sister group that contains the Chlorophyta and Charophyta/ Streptophyta. The land plants ...
in the family
Oltmannsiellopsidaceae.
Also ''
Neodangemannia'' (also in the family Oltmannsiellopsidaceae), was published in 2014.
Works and collection
In succession to his father, who died in 1947, Pierre Dangeard was editor of the botanic journal ''Le Botanist''.
* Plant collection and types: at Bordeaux
Notes
Not only were father and son both botanists, but in addition they had the same first name, namely ''Pierre''. This led to confusion, even within the academic community. The elder Dangeard foresaw the name problem and confronted it on the occasion of his publishing his son's
thesis
A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...
in the journal ''Le Botaniste'':
::„''Je suis heureux de présenter aujourd’hui dans cette 15 série du Botaniste un mémoire de mon fils ainé, dont les travaux ultérieurs porteront comme celui-ci la signature Pierre Dangeard, alors que les miens ont toujours été présentés sous la signature P. A. Dangeard : de la sorte, aucune confusion ne pourra se produire dans l’esprit des lecteurs.''“
[Pierre Augustin Dangeard: ''Introduction à la Série XV du Botaniste.'' In: ''Le Botaniste'', vol.15, issue 1, p.I, Paris 1923.]
::''(I am glad to present now in this 15th volume of the ''Botanist'' a treatise by my elder son, whose future works, like the present paper, will appear under the signature of Pierre Dangeard, while my own have always been published under that of P. A. Dangeard: thus, no confusion should arise in readers' minds.)''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dangeard, Pierre
20th-century French botanists
1895 births
1970 deaths
Botanists with author abbreviations
Members of the French Academy of Sciences
University of Paris alumni