An 18th century French naturalist who spent many years in Senegal where other naturalists feared to go and who gave his name to the baobab (Adansonia digitata) and to the African bee (Apis Mellifera Adansonii).
In the late 18th century, impoverished by his trip to Senegal, Adanson could have lived and satisfied his scholarly needs with his functions and his pensions; but he entertained the sole idea of producing his encyclopedia alone and devoted all his means to that end. Louis XVI granted him the use of the Royal Printing Office for the twenty-seven volumes which were to form this work, the title of which would have been "Universal Order of Nature." The French Revolution came and his financial means were cut off. What most afflicted him hoAn 18th century French naturalist who spent many years in Senegal where other naturalists feared to go and who gave his name to the baobab (Adansonia digitata) and to the African bee (Apis Mellifera Adansonii).
In the late 18th century, impoverished by his trip to Senegal, Adanson could have lived and satisfied his scholarly needs with his functions and his pensions; but he entertained the sole idea of producing his encyclopedia alone and devoted all his means to that end. Louis XVI granted him the use of the Royal Printing Office for the twenty-seven volumes which were to form this work, the title of which would have been "Universal Order of Nature." The French Revolution came and his financial means were cut off. What most afflicted him however was the loss of the garden where, for several years, he had been pursuing important experiments on plants and in particular on mulberry trees.
Despite financial difficulties, and the ongoing Terror, he refused offers made to him by the Emperor of Austria, Empress Catherine II and the King of Spain to emigrate to their respective countries.
The reality of his deep misery was not revealed until the creation of the Institute, in 1798. Invited to come and take his place among the members of the Academy of Sciences, he replied that he lacked the shoes to attend. Minister Bénézech granted him a pension of 6,000 francs, and Napoleon later doubled this sum....more
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