Baron Charles Athanase Walckenaer (1771–1852) was a French civil servant and scientist.

Biography

Walckenaer was born in Paris and studied at the universities of Oxford

University of Oxford

The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

 and Glasgow

University of Glasgow

The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...

. In 1793 he was appointed head of the military transports in the Pyrenees

Pyrenees

The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...

, after which he pursued technical studies at the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées

École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées

Founded in 1747, the École nationale des ponts et chaussées , often referred to as les Ponts, is the world's oldest civil engineering school...

 and the École polytechnique

École Polytechnique

The École Polytechnique is a state-run institution of higher education and research in Palaiseau, Essonne, France, near Paris. Polytechnique is renowned for its four year undergraduate/graduate Master's program...

. He was elected member of the Institut de France

Institut de France

The Institut de France is a French learned society, grouping five académies, the most famous of which is the Académie française.The institute, located in Paris, manages approximately 1,000 foundations, as well as museums and chateaux open for visit. It also awards prizes and subsidies, which...

 in 1813, was maire

Maire

Syzygium maire, Swamp Maire, is an evergreen tree endemic to New Zealand. It is found throughout the North Island, and the top of the South Island. The Māori language name is . Swamp maire grows in wetlands, where it develops breathing roots in waterlogged soils, but is also tolerant of reasonably...

in the 5th arrondissement in Paris and secretary-general of the prefect of the Seine

Seine (département)

Seine was a département of France encompassing Paris and its immediate suburbs. Its préfecture was Paris and its official number was 75. The Seine département was abolished in 1968 and its territory divided among four new départements....

 1816-1825. He was made a baron

Baron

Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...

 in 1823.

In 1839 he was appointed conservator for the Department of Maps at the Royal Library in Paris and in 1840 secretary for life in the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres. He was one of the founders of the Société entomologique de France

Société entomologique de France

The Société entomologique de France, or French Entomological Society, is devoted to the study of insects. It was founded in 1832.The society was created by eighteen Parisian entomologists on January 31, 1832...

 in 1832.

Walckenaer introduced the full biography according to the English model into French literature

French literature

French literature is, generally speaking, literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than French. Literature written in French language, by citizens...

 through his works Histoire de la vie et des ouvrages de la Fontaine (1820, 4th ed. 1858), Histoire de la vie et des poésies d'Horace (1840; new ed. 1858) and Mémoires touchent la vie et les écrits de Mme de Sevigné (6 volumes, 1842-1865). In the works of La Bruyère

Jean de La Bruyère

Jean de La Bruyère was a French essayist and moralist.-Ancestry:He was born in Paris, not, as was once thought, at Dourdan in 1645...

, which he published in 1845, he returned to the original text.

In the area of geography, he published La monde maritime (4 vols., 1818), Histoire générale des voyages (21 vols., 1826-1831) and Géographie ancienne, historique et comparée des Gaules (3 vols., 1839, new ed. 1862). He was also an entomologist and arachnologist who published, among other things, the Histoire naturelle des insectes (4 vols., 1836-1847) together with Paul Gervais

Paul Gervais

For the Canadian parliamentarian see Paul Mullins GervaisPaul Gervais full name François Louis Paul Gervaise was a French palaeontologist and entomologist.-Biography:...

.

External links

• Google Books Digital Version of Apteres Histoire naturelle des insectes