André Thouin was a French botanist who was born in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

. He studied botany

Botany

Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...

 under Bernard de Jussieu

Bernard de Jussieu

Bernard de Jussieu was a French naturalist, younger brother of Antoine de Jussieu.Bernard de Jussieu was born in Lyon...

 (1699–1777). In 1793 Thouin attained the chair of horticulture

Horticulture

Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...

 at Muséum national d'histoire naturelle

Muséum national d'histoire naturelle

The Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle is the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, France.- History :The museum was formally founded on 10 June 1793, during the French Revolution...

 in Paris. Thouin was a good friend of U.S. President Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...

, and his younger brother Gabriel Thouin (1747–1829) was a noted landscape architect. He was also the Godfather of Jean Baptiste Lamarck's son Andre. He is denoted by the author abbreviation Thouin when citing

Author citation (botany)

In botanical nomenclature, author citation refers to citing the person who validly published a botanical name, i.e. who first published the name while fulfilling the formal requirements as specified by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature...

 a botanical name

Botanical name

A botanical name is a formal scientific name conforming to the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature and, if it concerns a plant cultigen, the additional cultivar and/or Group epithets must conform to the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants...

.
Thouin is remembered for his contributions made in the field of agronomy

Agronomy

Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants for food, fuel, feed, fiber, and reclamation. Agronomy encompasses work in the areas of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and soil science. Agronomy is the application of a combination of sciences like biology,...

, and his scientific work concerning improved grafting

Grafting

Grafting is a horticultural technique whereby tissues from one plant are inserted into those of another so that the two sets of vascular tissues may join together. This vascular joining is called inosculation...

 techniques and seed selection. He was also a pioneer conservationalist

Conservation movement

The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental and a social movement that seeks to protect natural resources including animal, fungus and plant species as well as their habitat for the future....

, stressing the importance of replacing woodlands to compensate for their destruction due to human encroachment.

Selected publications

• Description de l'École d'agriculture pratique du Muséum d'histoire naturelle (1814)
• Manuel d'arboriculture. Manuel illustré de la culture, de la taille et de la greffe des arbres fruitiers.
• Monographie des greffes, ou Description technique des diverses sortes de greffes employées pour la multiplication des végétaux. (1821)
• Traite des arbres forestiers :ou histoire et description des arbres indigenes ou naturalises... /par M. Jaume Saint-Hilaire. Ouvrage precede d'une instruction sur la culture des arbres (1824)
• Cours de culture et de naturalisation des végétaux (1827).