Alcide Dessalines d' Orbigny

Born in Couëron, France, in 1802, Alcide d'Orbigny grew up in a family interested in natural history and became one of the 19th century's most wide-ranging scientists. He is especially remembered for his work on microscopic fossils and is often described as a founder of micropaleontology.

Between 1826 and 1834, he traveled through South America on a major scientific expedition sponsored by the Paris Museum of Natural History. During those years he collected specimens, observed landscapes and peoples, and gathered the material for later studies in zoology, paleontology, geology, archaeology, and anthropology.

After returning to France, he published extensively and helped shape the study of fossils in relation to rock layers, an important step in the development of stratigraphic paleontology. He died in 1857, but his name remains closely tied to both South American exploration and the early scientific study of ancient life.