Pierre André Latreille (1762–1833)
Born 1762 CE, died 1833 CE.
Pierre André Latreille (French pronunciation: [pjɛʁ ɑ̃dʁe latʁɛj]; 29 November 1762 – 6 February 1833) was a French zoologist, specialising in arthropods. Having trained as a Roman Catholic priest before the French Revolution, Latreille was imprisoned, and only regained his freedom after recognising a rare beetle species he found in the prison, Necrobia ruficollis. He published his first important work, Précis des caractères génériques des insectes, in 1796, and was eventually employed by the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle. His foresighted work on arthropod systematics and taxonomy gained him respect and accolades, including being asked to write the volume on insects for Georges Cuvier's monumental work, Le Règne Animal, the only part not by Cuvier himself. Latreille was considered the foremost entomologist of his time, and was described by one of his pupils as "the prince of entomologists".
Text from the Wikipedia article Pierre_André_Latreille, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.