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1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Bory de Saint-Vincent, Jean Baptiste George Marie

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1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 4
Bory de Saint-Vincent, Jean Baptiste George Marie
18257411911 Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 4 — Bory de Saint-Vincent, Jean Baptiste George Marie

BORY DE SAINT-VINCENT, JEAN BAPTISTE GEORGE MARIE (1780–1846), French naturalist, was born at Agen in 1780. He was sent as naturalist with Captain Nicholas Baudin’s expedition to Australia in 1798, but left the vessel at Mauritius, and spent two years in exploring Réunion and other islands. Joining the army on his return, he was present at the battles of Ulm and Austerlitz, and in 1808 went to Spain with Marshal Soult. His attachment to the Napoleonic dynasty and dislike to the Bourbons were shown in various ways during 1815, and his name was consequently placed on the list of the proscribed; but after wandering in disguise from place to place he was allowed quietly to return to Paris in 1820. In 1829 he was placed at the head of a scientific expedition to the Morea, and in 1839 he had charge of the exploration of Algeria. He died on the 23rd of December 1846. He was editor of the Dictionnaire classique d’histoire naturelle, and among his separate productions were:—Essais sur les Îles Fortunées (1802); Voyage dans les Îles d’Afrique (1803); Voyage souterrain, ou description du plateau de Saint-Pierre de Maestricht et de ses vastes cryptes (1821); L’Homme, essai zoologique sur le genre humain (1827); Résumé de la géographie de la Péninsule (1838).