Augustin Pyramus de Candolle
Augustin Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (UK: /kænˈdɒl/, US: /kɒ̃ˈdɔːl/, French: [kɑ̃dɔl]; 4 February 1778 – 9 September 1841) was a Swiss botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched de Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at a herbarium. Within a couple of years de Candolle had established a new genus, and he went on to document hundreds of plant families and create a new natural plant classification system. Although de Candolle's main focus was botany, he also contributed to related fields such as phytogeography, agronomy, paleontology, medical botany, and economic botany.
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Augustin Pyramus de Candolle
4 February 1778
9 September 1841 (aged 63)
Augustin Pyrame de Candolle
System of Taxonomy, Principle of "Nature's War"
Alphonse Pyramus de Candolle (son); Casimir de Candolle (grandson); Richard Émile Augustin de Candolle (great-grandson)
Royal Medal (1833); associate member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
University of Montpellier, Collège de Genève
DC.
De Candolle originated the idea of "Nature's war", which influenced Charles Darwin and the principle of natural selection.[1] De Candolle recognized that multiple species may develop similar characteristics that did not appear in a common evolutionary ancestor; a phenomenon now known as convergent evolution. During his work with plants, de Candolle noticed that plant leaf movements follow a near-24-hour cycle in constant light, suggesting that an internal biological clock exists. Though many scientists doubted de Candolle's findings, experiments over a century later demonstrated that "the internal biological clock" indeed exists.
De Candolle's descendants continued his work on plant classification; son Alphonse and grandson Casimir de Candolle contributed to the Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis, a catalog of plants begun by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle.
Early life[edit]
Augustin Pyramus de Candolle was born on 4 February 1778 in Geneva, Republic of Geneva, to Augustin de Candolle, a former official, and his wife, Louise Eléonore Brière. His family descended from one of the ancient families of Provence in France, but relocated to Geneva at the end of the 16th century to escape religious persecution.[2]
At age seven de Candolle contracted a severe case of hydrocephalus, which significantly affected his childhood.[3] Nevertheless, he is said to have had great aptitude for learning, distinguishing himself in school with his rapid acquisition of knowledge in classical and general literature and his ability to write fine poetry. In 1794, he began his scientific studies at the Collège de Genève, where he studied under Jean Pierre Étienne Vaucher, who later inspired de Candolle to make botanical science the chief pursuit of his life.[2]
Later life[edit]
Augustin de Candolle was the first of four generations of botanists in the de Candolle dynasty.[17] He married Mademoiselle Torras and their son, Alphonse Pyramus de Candolle, eventually succeeded to his father's chair in botany and continued the Prodromus.[2] Casimir de Candolle, Augustin de Candolle's grandson, also contributed to the Prodromus through his detailed, extensive research and characterization of the plant family Piperaceae.[18] Augustin de Candolle's great-grandson, Richard Émile Augustin de Candolle, was also a botanist.[19] Augustin de Candolle died on 9 September 1841 in Geneva, after being sick for many years.[2] That same year, he was elected as a member of the American Philosophical Society.[20]
In 2017, a book[21] was written in French about his life and one of his greatest contributions, the Botanical Garden of Geneva.