Julien Reverchon
 | You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in French. (January 2012) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
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Julien Reverchon | |
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 Reverchon c. 1868 | |
| Born | Julien Reverchon August 3, 1837 |
| Died | December 30, 1905 (aged 68) |
| Burial place | La Reunion Cemetery |
| Nationality | French |
| Occupation | Botany |
Julien Reverchon (3 August 1837 – 30 December 1905) was a French botanist.
Biography
[edit]Childhood
[edit]Reverchon was born on August 3, 1837, in Diemoz, France, to Jacques Maximilien and Florine (Pete) Reverchon.[1] He was the brother of Paul-Alphonse Reverchon.
Reverchon displayed an interest in the natural world at a young age, and along with his brother amassed a collection of nearly 2,000 species of plants during his childhood.
Arrival in the United States
[edit]At the age of 19, Julien and his father emigrated from France to join Fourierist Victor Prosper Considerant's colony at La Réunion in Dallas County, Texas; his older brother Paul-Alphonse remained behind in France.[1]
The Reverchons arrived at La Réunion in December 1856, shortly before the formal dissolution of the colony. Maximilien received a plot of land southeast corner of the colony in exchange for their shares in the failed company. The family established a farm on the site and Reverchon began studying the local flora.[1]
Family life and career
[edit]Reverchon married Marie Henri on July 24, 1864. They had two sons who would die as youths of typhoid fever in 1884.[2]
After abandoning botany for a few years, Reverchon resumed collecting plants in 1869, when he made an expedition with Jacob Boll to collect fossils in West Texas. With subsequent collections, he contributed to the production of noted floras by Asa Gray and Charles Sprague Sargent and the enrichment of many American collections.
Later life and death
[edit]Reverchon taught botany in Dallas toward the end of his life.
Reverchon was struck by a train on July 6, 1905, fracturing his arm and badly bruising his back while examining some bugs near the railroad track in Greenville, Texas.[3] Reverchon never recovered from his injuries and died at his adopted son RM Freeman's home on December 30.[4][5]
At the time of his death, his home the Rose Cottage contained a rich herbarium with more than 2,600 different species and 20,000 specimens.[5]
Legacy
[edit]Dalea reverchonii was first documented by Reverchon.[6]
Hedeoma reverchonii, Muhlenbergia reverchonii, Tradescantia reverchonii, and Yucca reverchonii are named in his honor.
Reverchon's botanical collection was donated to the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis upon his death.[2]
The city of Dallas named Reverchon Park in his honor.[7][8][9]
In 2012, artist Kevin Obregon collaborated with the Friends of Reverchon Park to create a giant puppet of Julien Reverchon for Bridge-O-Rama's Parade of Giants, celebrating the opening of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge.[10][11][12][13]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Association, Texas State Historical. "Reverchon, Julien". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
- ^ a b "Julien Reverchon". geni_family_tree. 1837-08-03. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
- ^ "Julian Reverchon injured". Dallas Morning News. 1905-07-08.
- ^ "Prof. Jules Reverchon Ill". Dallas Morning News. 1905-10-15.
- ^ a b "Prof. Reverchon Dead". Dallas Morning News. 1905-12-31.
- ^ "Plant Profile Comanche Peak Prairie-clover (Dalea reverchonii)". Center for Plant Conservation website. Retrieved 2024-10-30.
- ^ "Reverchon is one of Dallas' most successful parks, but it wasn't always so". Dallas Morning News. 2010-04-14. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
- ^ "Botany, baseball and a bath house: The roots of Dallas' Reverchon Park". Dallas Morning News. 2021-09-16. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
- ^ Magazine, D. (2022-02-16). "Saying Goodbye to D Magazine with a Reflection on the Life of an Obscure Botanist". D Magazine. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
- ^ Minora, Leslie. "Massive Puppets of Notable West Dallasites Get Pretty for Tomorrow's Parade of Giants". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
- ^ "Lyle Lovett tops slew of events celebrating Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge opening". Dallas Morning News. 2012-03-02. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
- ^ "West Dallas Prepares For Weekend Bridge Festivities". KERA News. 2012-03-01. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
- ^ Magazine, D. (2012-03-04). "Bridge-o-Rama's Oversized Puppets Honored West Dallas Giants". D Magazine. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
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