Abstract
JEAN VICTOR AUDOIN, an eminent French entomologist, was born in Paris on April 27, 1797, the son of a lawyer. His early interest in natural history prevented him from following his father's profession, for which he was first intended, and he took up medicine, qualifying in 1826 with a thesis on the natural history and the chemical, pharmaceutical and medical aspects of oantharides. He had already in 1823 founded with J. B. A. Dumas, the chemist, and A. Brongniart, the geologist, the Annales des Sciences Naturelles. In 1824 he became assistant to H. Latreille, professor of entomology and director of the Natural History Museum in Paris. In 1832 he was one of the founders of the Société Entomologique de France, and in the following year succeeded Latreille. In 1837 he was elected to the Paris Academy of Sciences in the Section of Agriculture. His best–known investigations were carried out with Milne–Edwards on the anatomy and physiology of Crustacea, and on the parasites of the vine and silk–worm. He died on November 9, 1841. At a meeting of the Academy of Sciences on August 13, 1844, D. Gruby gave the name of Microsporum (afterwards changed to Microaporon) Avdouini to the fungus causing ringworm of the scalp, a term still in current use, in recognition of Audoin's having directed attention to parasites which destroy the living tissues of animals.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jean Victor Audoin (1797–1841). Nature 148, 562 (1941). https://doi.org/10.1038/148562b0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/148562b0