Antoine Gouan was a French naturalist

Naturalist

Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...

 who was a native of Montpellier

Montpellier

-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....

. Gouan was a pioneer of Linnaean taxonomy

Linnaean taxonomy

Linnaean taxonomy can mean either of two related concepts:# the particular form of biological classification set up by Carl Linnaeus, as set forth in his Systema Naturæ and subsequent works...

 in France.

He began his studies in Toulouse

Toulouse

Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...

, and later returned to Montpellier, where he studied medicine at the University

University of Montpellier

The University of Montpellier was a French university in Montpellier in the Languedoc-Roussillon région of the south of France. Its present-day successor universities are the University of Montpellier 1, Montpellier 2 University and Paul Valéry University, Montpellier III.-History:The university...

. Here he was a student of François Boissier de Sauvages de Lacroix

François Boissier de Sauvages de Lacroix

François Boissier de Sauvages de Lacroix was a French physician and botanist who was a native of Alès. He studied medicine and botany at the University of Montpellier, and received his doctorate in 1726. After spending a few years in Paris, he returned to Montpellier in 1734, where became...

 (1706-1767), who was an ardent supporter of Carolus Linnaeus

Carolus Linnaeus

Carl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...

. In August 1752, Gouan received his doctorate under the chairmanship of Antoine Magnol

Antoine Magnol

Antoine Magnol was a French physician and botanist who was born in Montpellier. He was the son of famed botanist Pierre Magnol , whom he replaced as chair at the University of Montpellier in 1715...

 (1676-1759), and subsequently practiced medicine at the Saint-Éloi Hospital of Montpellier. Soon afterwards his interest turned to natural history

Natural history

Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...

.

In 1762 Gouan published a plant catalog of the Botanical Garden

Botanical garden

A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...

 at Montpellier titled Hortus regius monspeliensis. This publication was the first French botanical work that followed the binomial nomenclature of Linnaeus. In 1765 he penned Flora Monspeliaca, and became devient titulaire of the Montpellier Academy. During this time period he attained a position at the Botanical Garden, and was in charge of collection and classification of plant species. In 1770 he published an important ichthyological

Ichthyology

Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish. This includes skeletal fish , cartilaginous fish , and jawless fish...

 treatise called Historia Piscicum, which expanded the number of fish genera that existed in the Linnaean system.

In 1766 he succeeded Sauvages de Lacroix at the Faculty of Medicine, and in 1783 became a foreign member of the Linnean Society of London

Linnean Society of London

The Linnean Society of London is the world's premier society for the study and dissemination of taxonomy and natural history. It publishes a zoological journal, as well as botanical and biological journals...

. During his career he maintained correspondence with several learned scientists and thinkers, which included in addition to Linnaeus; Albrecht von Haller

Albrecht von Haller

Albrecht von Haller was a Swiss anatomist, physiologist, naturalist and poet.-Early life:He was born of an old Swiss family at Bern. Prevented by long-continued ill-health from taking part in boyish sports, he had the more opportunity for the development of his precocious mind...

 (1708-1777), Jean Guillaume Bruguière

Jean Guillaume Bruguière

Jean Guillaume Bruguière was a French physician, zoologist and diplomat.Bruguière was born in Montpellier.He was a doctor, connected to the University of Montpellier. His was interested in invertebrates, mostly snails ....

 (1750-1798), Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...

 (1712-1778), Carl Peter Thunberg

Carl Peter Thunberg

Carl Peter Thunberg aka Carl Pehr Thunberg aka Carl Per Thunberg was a Swedish naturalist and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus. He has been called "the father of South African botany" and the "Japanese Linnaeus"....

 (1743-1828), et al.

In 1790, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences or Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. The Academy is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization which acts to promote the sciences, primarily the natural sciences and mathematics.The Academy was founded on 2...

.

Gouan is credited with planting the first ginkgo biloba in France, which was given to him by naturalist Pierre Marie Auguste Broussonet

Pierre Marie Auguste Broussonet

Pierre Marie Auguste Broussonet , French naturalist, was born at Montpellier, and was educated for the medical profession...

 (1761-1807). Today this tree is still standing in the Botanical Garden of Montpellier. During his career he amassed a large collection of algae

Algae

Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...

 that was harvested around Marseille

Marseille

Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...

.