Eugène Bourgeau
Eugène Bourgeau (1813–1877) was a native of Brizon in the département of Haute-Savoie in France.
Biographical information
As a young man, he worked at the botanical garden in Lyon, where his influences included Nicolas Charles Seringe and Claude Thomas Alexis Jordan.[1] In 1843 he relocated to Paris, where he was hired by Philip Barker Webb as a herbarium assistant. In 1845-46 he collected plants for the "Webb collection" in the Canary Islands.[2]
He had previously been a botanical collector in Spain, North Africa and the Canary Islands before joining the British North American Exploring Expedition of western Canada from 1857 to 1860.[3] In Canada, he collected botanical specimens north of Lake Superior and areas around Lake Winnipeg, also journeying down the Saskatchewan River and venturing into the Rocky Mountains.[2]
Later expeditions included two trips to Asia Minor (the Lycia region and the Pontic Mountains), a journey to Spain and the Balearic Islands (1863), a scientific mission to Mexico (1865–66), and in 1870, a trip to the island of Rhodes.[1][2]
The plant genus Bourgaea was named in his honor by Ernest Cosson.[2][4] His name is also commemorated with Mount Bourgeau, a peak located in Banff National Park.
Bourgeau did not publish any botanical literature.[2] He reportedly was a terrible speller and grammarian.[1]
References
- ^ a b c Biographical Dictionary of American and Canadian Naturalists edited by Keir Brooks Sterling
- ^ a b c d e JSTOR Global Plants (biography of Bourgeau)
- ^ James Hector's Journal
- ^ Index Nominum Genericorum database Bourgaea - Smithsonian Institution
External links
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