Auguste Bravard
Encyclopedia
Auguste Bravard (18 June 1803 – 28 March 1861) was a French mining engineer turned palaeontologist who, having hunted fossils in the Vaucluse
, Allier
and his native Puy de Dôme emigrated to Argentina
in the winter of 1852-53 and was a long-term resident in Buenos Aires
, where he unearthed and studied mammal
ian fossils, some of which, like the skull of Mesotherium
he sent back to the Musée d'histoire naturelle, Paris. Pleistocene
mammal fossils purchased from Bravard are also in the Museum of Natural History, South Kensington, London, transferred from the British Museum
, which had purchased them from Bravard in 1854. Bravard, who became director of the natural history museum in Paraná
, upheld geological theories contrary to those of Charles Darwin
.
From Buenos Aires, he explored in Bahía Blanca
, resulting in his Mapa geológico y topográfico de los alrededores de Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires (1857), in the Paraná basin and in the pampas.
Periodically Bravard lithographed his letters and distributed them to geologists in Europe.
After his unexpected death in the Mendoza earthquake of 1861
, his remarkable collection of fossils disappeared. At the turn of the twentieth century, an auction of unclaimed crates by the Buenos Aires customs office revealed the collection, which was handed over to the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Buenos Aires.
At Issoire
, he is commemorated in the rue August Bravard.
Vaucluse
The Vaucluse is a department in the southeast of France, named after the famous spring, the Fontaine-de-Vaucluse.- History :Vaucluse was created on 12 August 1793 out of parts of the departments of Bouches-du-Rhône, Drôme, and Basses-Alpes...
, Allier
Allier
Allier is a department in central France named after the river Allier.- History :Allier is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Auvergne and Bourbonnais.In 1940, the government of Marshal...
and his native Puy de Dôme emigrated to Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
in the winter of 1852-53 and was a long-term resident in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, where he unearthed and studied mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
ian fossils, some of which, like the skull of Mesotherium
Mesotherium
Mesotherium ,better known by its synonym, "Typotherium," is the type genus of Mesotheriidae, a long-lasting family of superficially rodent-like, burrowing notoungulates from South America. It was first named by Étienne Serres in 1867, and through further finds now contains four species, M....
he sent back to the Musée d'histoire naturelle, Paris. Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
mammal fossils purchased from Bravard are also in the Museum of Natural History, South Kensington, London, transferred from the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, which had purchased them from Bravard in 1854. Bravard, who became director of the natural history museum in Paraná
Paraná, Entre Ríos
Paraná is the capital city of the Argentine province of Entre Ríos, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, opposite the city of Santa Fe, capital of the neighbouring Santa Fe Province...
, upheld geological theories contrary to those of Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
.
From Buenos Aires, he explored in Bahía Blanca
Bahía Blanca
Bahía Blanca is a city located in the south-west of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, by the Atlantic Ocean, and seat of government of Bahía Blanca Partido. It has a population of 274,509 inhabitants according to the...
, resulting in his Mapa geológico y topográfico de los alrededores de Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires (1857), in the Paraná basin and in the pampas.
Periodically Bravard lithographed his letters and distributed them to geologists in Europe.
After his unexpected death in the Mendoza earthquake of 1861
1861 Mendoza earthquake
The 1861 Mendoza earthquake was a major seismic movement in the province of Mendoza, Argentina. It took place on 20 March 1861, at 11:30 PM. It had a magnitude of 7.2 on the Surface wave magnitude scale and an intensity of IX in the Mercalli scale...
, his remarkable collection of fossils disappeared. At the turn of the twentieth century, an auction of unclaimed crates by the Buenos Aires customs office revealed the collection, which was handed over to the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Buenos Aires.
At Issoire
Issoire
Issoire is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France.-Geography:Issoire is located on the Couze River, near its junction with the Allier, SSE of Clermont-Ferrand on the Paris-Lyon-Méditerranée railway to Nîmes...
, he is commemorated in the rue August Bravard.