Pierre Magnol (June 8, 1638 - May 21, 1715) was a
FrenchFrench people can refer to:* The legal residents and citizens of France, regardless of ancestry. For a legal discussion, see French nationality law.* People whose ancestors lived in France or the area that later became France....
botanist. He was born in the city of
MontpellierMontpellier is a city in southern France. It is the capital of the Languedoc-Roussillon region, as well as the Hérault department.-Population:...
, where he lived and worked for the biggest part of his life. He eventually became Professor of Botany and Director of the Royal Botanic Garden of Montpellier and even held a seat in the
Académie Royale des Sciences de ParisThe French Academy of Sciences is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research...
for a short while. Magnol is of lasting importance because he was one of the innovators of the current botanical scheme of classification. He was the first to publish the concept of plant families as we know them, a natural classification, in which groups of plant with associated common features were described.
Youth and education
Pierre Magnol was born into a family of apothecaries (pharmacists). His father Claude ran a pharmacy as did his grandfather Jean Magnol. Pierre's mother was from a family of physicians. Pierre's older brother Cesar succeeded his father in the pharmacy. Pierre, being one of the younger children, had more freedom to choose his own profession, and wanted to become a physician. He had become devoted to natural history and especially botany at an early stage in his life, which might be regarded as self-evident for a son of a pharmacist.
In Magnol's days, the study of botany and medicine were inseparable. Thus he enrolled as a student in medicine at the
University of MontpellierThe University of Montpellier was a French university in Montpellier in the Languedoc-Roussillon région of the south of France. Its present-day successor universities are the University of Montpellier 1, Montpellier 2 University and Paul Valéry University, Montpellier III.-History:The university...
on May 19, 1655.
Montpellier is an old city and in Magnol's days it had already been an important commercial and educational centre for several ages. The
University of MontpellierThe University of Montpellier was a French university in Montpellier in the Languedoc-Roussillon région of the south of France. Its present-day successor universities are the University of Montpellier 1, Montpellier 2 University and Paul Valéry University, Montpellier III.-History:The university...
was officially founded in 1289 (though it is said to be older) and it was the first French university to establish a botanic garden, donated in 1593 by
Henry IV of FranceHenry IV was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France. His parents were Queen Jeanne III and King Antoine of Navarre.As a Huguenot, Henry was involved in the Wars of Religion before...
, for the study of medicine and pharmacology. Its medical school attracted students from all over Europe. Famous botanists such as
Francois RabelaisFrançois Rabelais was a major French Renaissance writer, doctor and Renaissance humanist. He has historically been regarded as a writer of fantasy, satire, the grotesque, and both bawdy jokes and songs.- Biography :...
(c. 1493-1553),
Leonhart FuchsLeonhart Fuchs , sometimes spelled Leonhard Fuchs, was a German physician and one of the three founding fathers of botany, along with Otto Brunfels and Hieronymus Bock .-Biography:...
(1501-1566),
Guillaume RondeletGuillaume Rondelet , known also as Rondeletus, was professor of medicine at the University of Montpellier in southern France and Chancellor of the Medical Faculty from 1560...
(1507-1566),
Charles de l'EcluseCharles de l'Écluse, L'Escluse, or Carolus Clusius , seigneur de Watènes, was the Flemish doctor and pioneering botanist, perhaps the most influential of all 16th century scientific horticulturists....
(1526-1609) and
Pierre Richer de BellevalPierre Richer de Belleval was a French botanist born in 1564 in Châlons-sur-Marne and died in November 17 1632 in Montpellier. He is considered the father of scientific botany....
(c. 1564-1632) all studied at this university. So it was in one of the intellectual and botanical capitals that Magnol took his education. He got his doctor's degree (M.D.) on January 11, 1659. After receiving his degree, his attention once again shifted to botany, this time even more serious.
Religion
Montpellier was a bastion of
ProtestantismProtestantism is a branch within Christianity, containing many denominations with some differing practices and doctrines, that principally originated in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. It is considered to be one of the major divisions within Christianity, together with the Roman...
and Magnol was raised in the tradition of
CalvinismCalvinism is a theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
. At that time, Roman Catholicism was the official state church, but since the
Edict of NantesThe Edict of Nantes was issued on April 13, 1598. by Henry IV of France to grant the Calvinist Protestants of France substantial rights in a nation still considered essentially Catholic...
(1598), Protestants officially had religious freedom and the right to work in any field or for the state. The edict did not end religious persecution and discrimination. In his life, Magnol was several times denied a position because of religious discrimination. With the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, Magnol renounced Protestantism, and was converted to Catholicism.
Career
In December 1663 Magnol received the honorary title
brevet de medecine royal through mediation of Antoine Vallot, an influential physician of the king. No means of his financial stability are mentioned (Magnol did not have a wealthy family to support him) but it is suggested that he was practicing medicine and had an income out of that. From 1659 on he devoted much of his time to the study of botany and made several trips through the
LanguedocLanguedoc is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² Languedoc is a former...
, the
ProvenceProvence is a region of southeastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
, to the
AlpesAlpes may refer to:*Alpes-de-Haute-Provence , a French department in the south of France*Hautes-Alpes, a department in southeastern France*Alpes-Maritimes, a department in the extreme southeast corner of France...
and to the
PyreneesThe Pyrenees are a range of mountains in southwest Europe that form a natural border between France and Spain...
. In 1664 there was a vacancy for 'Demonstrator of plants' in Montpellier and Magnol was proposed for the position. He was denied the appointment because of religious discrimination. This happened again in 1667 when he was the leading candidate for the chair of Professor of medicine.
Meanwhile Magnol had contacts with many prominent botanist and was highly esteemed by his contemporaries. He corresponded with
John RayJohn Ray was an English naturalist, sometimes referred to as the father of English natural history. Until 1670, he wrote his name as John Wray. From then on, he used 'Ray', 'having ascertained that such had been the practice of his family before him.' He published important works on plants,...
,
William SherardWilliam Sherard was an English botanist. Next to John Ray, he was considered to be one of the outstanding English botanists of his day.-Life:...
and
James PetiverJames Petiver was a London apothecary, a Fellow of the Royal Society as well as London's informal Temple Coffee House Botany Club, famous for his study of botany and entomology...
(England),
Paul HermannPaul Hermann was a German born physician and botanist who for 15 years was director of the Hortus Botanicus Leiden....
and
Petrus HouttuynPetrus Houttuyn , often cited as Peter Hotton, was a Dutch botanist and medical professor of medicine and botany at Leiden University...
(
LeidenLeiden is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands and has 118,000 inhabitants. It forms a single urban area with Oegstgeest, Leiderdorp, Voorschoten, Valkenburg, Rijnsburg and Katwijk, with 254,000 inhabitants. It is located on the Old Rhine, close to the cities...
),
Jan CommelinJan Commelin , also known as Jan Commelijn or Johannes Commelinus, was the son of Isaac Commelin a historian; his brother Casparus was a bookseller and newspaper publisher. Jan a botanist became a professor of botany when many plants were imported from the Cape and Ceylon and a new system had to be...
(Amsterdam), J.H. Lavater (
ZurichZürich or Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. The city is Switzerland's main commercial and cultural centre and sometimes called the Cultural Capital of Switzerland, the political capital of Switzerland being Berne...
) and J. Salvador (
BarcelonaBarcelona is the capital, most populous city of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain, with a population of 1,615,908 in 2008. It is the 11th-most populous municipality in the European Union and sixth-most populous urban area in the European Union after Paris,...
), among others.
In 1687, after his conversion to Catholicism, Magnol eventually became 'Demonstrator of plants' at the botanic garden of Montpellier. In 1693, recommended by
Guy-Crescent FagonGuy-Crescent Fagon was a physician and botanist. He acted as the physician to Louis XIV of France and the genus Fagonia is named for him...
(1638-1718), then court physician, and his own student
Joseph Pitton de TournefortJoseph Pitton de Tournefort was a French botanist, notable as the first to make a clear definition of the concept of genus for plants.-Biography:...
(1656-1708), he was nominated 'doctor to the kings court'. In 1694 he finally was appointed Professor of medicine at the University of Montpellier. Through intervention of Fagon, he received a
brevet de professeur royale. Magnol was also appointed Director of the botanic garden in 1696, for a three year period. After that, he received the title 'Inspector of the garden' for the rest of his life.
Magnol was one of the founding members of the Société Royale des Sciences de Montpellier (1706) and held one of the three chairs in botany. In 1709 he was called to Paris to occupy the seat in the Académie Royale des Sciences de Paris that was left empty when his former student Joseph Pitton de Tournefort died prematurely.
Among Magnol's students were Tournefort and the brothers
AntoineAntoine de Jussieu was a French naturalist.Jussieu was born in Lyon, the son of Christophe de Jussieu , an apothecary of some repute, who published a Nouveau traité de la theriaque . Antoine studied at the university of Montpellier, and travelled with his brother Bernard through Spain, Portugal...
and
Bernard de JussieuBernard de Jussieu was a French naturalist, younger brother of Antoine de Jussieu.Bernard de Jussieu was born in Lyon...
.
Major contribution to science
Magnol's most important contribution to science is without doubt the invention of the concept of plant families, a natural classification, based on combinations of morphological characters, as set out in his
Prodromus historiae generalis plantarum, in quo familiae plantarum per tabulas disponuntur (1689) (See under major works). In Magnol's day it was common belief that all species had come into existence by divine creation as set out in the Book of Genesis. Remember that Magnol was a convinced Protestant. Nevertheless his work may be regarded as one of the first steps towards the composition of a tree of life. In his
Prodromus he developed 75 tables, which not only grouped plants into families but also allowed for an easy and rapid identification by means of the morphological characters, the same he used to compose the groups.
Major works
1676,
Botanicum Monspeliense, sive Plantarum circa Monspelium nascentium index. Lyon. [Flora of Montpellier, or rather a list of the plants growing around Montpellier]
1686,
Botanicum Monspeliense, sive Plantarum circa Monspelium nascentium index. Adduntur variarum plantarum descriptiones et icones. Cum appendice quae plantas de novo repertas continet et errata emendat. Montpellier. [Flora of Montpellier, or rather a list of the plants growing around Montpellier, with descriptions and plates of several plants added. With an appendix that contains newly found plants and corrects errors]
1689,
Prodromus historiae generalis plantarum, in quo familiae plantarum per tabulas disponuntur. Montpellier. [Precursor to a systematic account of the genera of plants, in which the families of plants are arranged in tables]
1697,
Hortus regius Monspeliense, sive Catalogus plantarum quae in Horto Regio Monspeliensi demonstrantur. Montpellier. [The royal garden of Montpellier, or rather a catalogue of the plants that are on show in the royal garden of Montpellier]
1720,
Novus caracter [sic]
plantarum, in duo tractatus divisus: primus, de herbis & subfructibus, secundus, de fructibus & arboribus. Montpellier, posthumous edition, attended to by his son,
Antoine MagnolAntoine Magnol was a French physician and botanist who was born in Montpellier. He was the son of famed botanist Pierre Magnol , whom he replaced as chair at the University of Montpellier in 1715...
(1676-1759). [New character of plants, divided into two treatises: the first on herbs and small shrubs, the second on shrubs and trees]
Eponymy
In 1703
Charles PlumierCharles Plumier was a French botanist, after whom the genus Plumeria, or Frangipani is named.-Biography:Born in Marseille, at the age of sixteen he entered the religious order of the Minims...
(1646-1704) gave a flowering tree from the island of Martinique the genus name
Magnolia, after Magnol. The name was later adopted by
LinnaeusCarl Linnaeus was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature...
in the first edition of
Species plantarumSpecies Plantarum was first published in 1753, as a two-volume work by Carl Linnaeus. Its prime importance is perhaps that it is the primary starting point of plant nomenclature as it exists today. This means that the first names to be considered validly published in botany are those that appear...
, with a reference to Plumier's name. This way,
Magnolia became the name of the large genus of ornamental flowering trees as we know it to date. See Origin of the name
Magnolia.
External links
- http://web.clas.ufl.edu/users/rhatch/pages/03-Sci-Rev/SCI-REV-Home/resource-ref-read/major-minor-ind/westfall-dsb/SAM-M.htm