author
A. de (Armand de) Quatrefages
1810–1892
A 19th-century French naturalist who moved from medicine into zoology and anthropology, he wrote widely for readers curious about the human world and the natural one. His books helped bring scientific debates of his time to a broader audience.
1 Audiobook
The human species
by A. de (Armand de) Quatrefages
About the author
Born in 1810, Armand de Quatrefages de Bréau was a French physician, zoologist, and anthropologist. He studied medicine and science at Strasbourg, then built a career that gradually shifted toward natural history and the study of humanity.
He became a prominent scholar in Paris and is especially associated with the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, where he taught and wrote during the second half of the 19th century. His work ranged across zoology, human origins, and anthropology, and several of his books were translated, helping his ideas travel beyond France.
Quatrefages died in 1892. Today he is remembered as one of those broad-minded 19th-century scholars whose writing sat between specialist science and general readership, making complex subjects more approachable for non-expert readers.