Swiss Botanist. He achieved world acclaim for his botanical contributions to science and is probably best remembered for coining the phrase "Nature's war", meaning that different species of plants compete with each other for space and resources, which later influenced the noted English naturalist Charles Darwin and his principle of natural selection. After studying science at the Geneva Academy, he moved to Paris, France in 1798 following the French annexation of Geneva, and worked with French botanist Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle. The following year, he established his first genus "Senebiera". His extensive publications on plants brought him to the attention of renowned French naturalists Georges Cuvier and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck who encouraged him to continue his botanical research, which eventually led to his theory of the natural method of plant classification in lieu of the artificial Linnaean method. For his efforts, he was awarded a Doctorate of Medicine Degree in 1804 from the medical faculty of Paris. He continued publishing his research, documenting hundreds of plant families, while undertaking a six-year biological and agricultural survey of France. In 1816 he returned to Geneva where he attempted to complete his natural system of botanical classification, which later proved to be unsuccessful. In 1824 he began to focus his efforts on the less extensive "Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis" but only completed seven volumes before he became ill and was unable to finish the project. In 1833 he was awarded the Royal Medal by the British Royal Society for his contributions to the field of botany. He died at the age of 63.
Swiss Botanist. He achieved world acclaim for his botanical contributions to science and is probably best remembered for coining the phrase "Nature's war", meaning that different species of plants compete with each other for space and resources, which later influenced the noted English naturalist Charles Darwin and his principle of natural selection. After studying science at the Geneva Academy, he moved to Paris, France in 1798 following the French annexation of Geneva, and worked with French botanist Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle. The following year, he established his first genus "Senebiera". His extensive publications on plants brought him to the attention of renowned French naturalists Georges Cuvier and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck who encouraged him to continue his botanical research, which eventually led to his theory of the natural method of plant classification in lieu of the artificial Linnaean method. For his efforts, he was awarded a Doctorate of Medicine Degree in 1804 from the medical faculty of Paris. He continued publishing his research, documenting hundreds of plant families, while undertaking a six-year biological and agricultural survey of France. In 1816 he returned to Geneva where he attempted to complete his natural system of botanical classification, which later proved to be unsuccessful. In 1824 he began to focus his efforts on the less extensive "Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis" but only completed seven volumes before he became ill and was unable to finish the project. In 1833 he was awarded the Royal Medal by the British Royal Society for his contributions to the field of botany. He died at the age of 63.
Bio by: William Bjornstad
Advertisement
See more Pyramus de Candolle memorials in:
Records on Ancestry
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
