Jean-Henri Fabre

Born in Saint-Léons, France, in December 1823, Jean-Henri Fabre grew up in modest circumstances and was largely self-educated. He began teaching while continuing his own studies, and over time worked in Carpentras, Ajaccio in Corsica, and Avignon. Alongside teaching, he wrote a large number of textbooks and popular science works.

Fabre became famous for his patient, detailed studies of insect behavior. He is especially remembered for Souvenirs entomologiques, a ten-volume series published between 1879 and 1907, in which he combined careful observation with an inviting literary style. His work on insects such as wasps, bees, beetles, and other small animals made him one of the great popularizers of natural history and an important early figure in the study of animal behavior.

He spent his later years in Sérignan-du-Comtat, where his house and garden gave him the space to carry out many of his observations. Fabre died there in 1915, but his writing has remained widely read for its warmth, precision, and sense of wonder about the natural world.