Henri Milne-Edwards facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Henri Milne-Edwards ForMemRS
Born	(1800-10-23)23 October 1800 Bruges, French First Republic
Died	29 July 1885(1885-07-29) (aged 84) Paris, French Third Republic
Nationality	French
Alma mater	University of Paris
Awards	Copley Medal (1856)
Scientific career
Fields	Zoology
Author abbrev. (zoology)	Milne-Edwards

Henri Milne-Edwards (born October 23, 1800 – died July 29, 1885) was a famous French scientist. He was a zoologist, which means he studied animals and their lives. He made many important discoveries about different animal groups, especially sea creatures.

About Henri Milne-Edwards

Henri Milne-Edwards was born in Bruges, which is now part of Belgium. At the time, Bruges was part of the new French Republic. He was the 27th child of William Edwards, who was an English planter, and Elisabeth Vaux, a Frenchwoman.

Henri spent most of his life in France. His older brother, Guillaume Frederic Edwards, helped raise him in Paris. Guillaume was also a well-known scientist who studied the human body and different cultures.

Henri first studied medicine and became a doctor in Paris in 1823. But he loved natural history even more. So, he decided to focus on studying animals, especially smaller creatures. He learned from a famous scientist named Georges Cuvier. He also became good friends with another scientist, Jean Victoire Audouin.

Henri married Laura Trézel, and they had nine children. One of his sons, Alphonse Milne-Edwards, also became a famous biologist.

His Name

Henri's original first name was Milne. To avoid confusion with his many relatives, he added it to his last name, Edwards. He usually wrote his name as "Milne Edwards." His son, Alphonse, always used "Milne-Edwards" with a hyphen. When scientists talk about animals named by either father or son, they often use "Milne-Edwards."

Henri's Scientific Work

A monograph of the British fossil corals by H. Milne Edwards and Jules Haime.

Henri Milne-Edwards was very active in science. One of his first important papers was about crustaceans, which are animals like crabs and lobsters. He presented this paper in 1829. It was based on two trips he took with his friend Audouin to explore the sea near Granville, France. They used special tools to collect sea animals from the ocean floor.

Their research showed that the sea animals along that part of the French coast lived in four different zones. This was a new and important idea for understanding marine life.

In 1829, he also studied reptiles. He described and named five new types of lizards.

Henri became a professor in 1832, teaching about health and natural history. Later, in 1841, he took over a special position at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris, where he taught about insects. In 1862, he became the head of zoology there.

Much of his new research was published in a science magazine called Annales des sciences naturelles. He also helped edit this magazine starting in 1834.

He wrote several important books:

• Histoire naturelle des Crustacés (Natural History of Crustaceans), published from 1837 to 1841. This book was a key resource for many years.
• Histoire naturelle des coralliaires (Natural History of Corals), published from 1858 to 1860.
• Leçons sur la physiologie et l'anatomie comparée de l'homme et des animaux (Lessons on the Physiology and Comparative Anatomy of Man and Animals). This was a huge work with 14 volumes!
• A smaller book about the basics of zoology, first published in 1834. It was updated many times and was very popular.

In 1842, Henri was chosen as a foreign member of the Royal Society in London. This is a very respected science group. In 1856, the Royal Society gave him the Copley Medal. This award recognized all his amazing work in zoology. He passed away in Paris in 1885.

His son, Alphonse Milne-Edwards, also became a famous scientist. He studied fossil birds and explored the deep sea.

Animals Named After Henri Milne-Edwards

Taxa named after
Henri Milne-Edwards

Blood star (Henricia leviuscula)

The southern rock lobster, Jasus edwardsii

Conus milneedwardsi

Many animals and groups of animals have been named in honor of Henri Milne-Edwards. This is a way for other scientists to remember his important contributions to zoology. Here are some examples: