Alcide d'Orbigny
French naturalist / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Alcide d'Orbigny?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Alcide Charles Victor Marie Dessalines d'Orbigny (6 September 1802 – 30 June 1857) was a French naturalist who made major contributions in many areas, including zoology (including malacology), palaeontology, geology, archaeology and anthropology.
Alcide Charles Victor Marie Dessalines d'Orbigny | |
---|---|
Born | 6 September 1802 (1802-09-06) Couëron, France |
Died | 30 June 1857 (1857-07-01) (aged 54) |
Nationality | French |
Known for | malacology, fossils, palaeontology |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Natural history |
Institutions | Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle |
D'Orbigny was born in Couëron (Loire-Atlantique), the son of a ship's physician and amateur naturalist. The family moved to La Rochelle in 1820, where his interest in natural history was developed while studying the marine fauna and especially the microscopic creatures that he named "foraminiferans".
In Paris he became a disciple of the geologist Pierre Louis Antoine Cordier (1777–1861) and Georges Cuvier. All his life, he would follow the theory of Cuvier and stay opposed to Lamarckism.