Marie-Aimée Lullin facts for kids

Marie-Aimée Lullin (born April 5, 1751 – died January 25, 1822) was a very important person who helped her husband, François Huber. He was a famous scientist who studied insects, especially bees. Marie-Aimée helped him because he became blind when he was young. She was his eyes, reading to him, writing for him, and observing things for his scientific work.

Her Early Life and Marriage

Marie-Aimée Lullin was born in Geneva. Her father, Pierre Lullin, was a leader in the city.

She met François Huber when she was 17 years old. They became good friends and loved to dance together. However, Marie-Aimée's father did not want her to marry François. This was because François was losing his eyesight.

Instead of giving up, Marie-Aimée decided to wait. She waited seven years until she was 25. At that age, she was legally allowed to choose her own husband, even if her father disagreed. They finally married on April 28, 1776, in Geneva.

Their love story was so strong that it inspired a famous novel called Delphine by Germaine de Staël. Even the famous writer Voltaire noticed their special bond. Marie-Aimée always supported her husband. She helped him so much that he never felt sad about being blind.

Family Life

Marie-Aimée and François had three children together:

• Pierre Huber (born 1777 – died 1840)
• Marie Anne Huber (born 1779 – died 1871)
• Jean Huber (born 1785 – died 1839)

Marie-Aimée passed away in 1822. Her death greatly affected her husband, François. After she died, their daughter Marie Anne took care of him.

People described Marie-Aimée as being small but full of energy and life. François Huber even compared her to bees! He used a Latin phrase to describe her: Latin: mens magna in corpore parvo. This means 'great mind in a small body'. He then used a similar phrase to describe bees, saying they have 'mighty souls in their little bodies'.

In 1991, a crater on the planet Venus was named after Marie Lullin. It is about 24 kilometers (15 miles) wide.

Her Important Research Work

Marie-Aimée Lullin is known as one of the first women to study insects using experiments. She became her husband's "reader, secretary, and observer." This meant she read scientific books to him, wrote down his thoughts, and carefully watched the bees for his studies.

Together with their son Pierre and a helper named François Burnens, Marie-Aimée played a key role. She helped Huber do experiments that created much of what we know about honey bees today.

Even though her exact roles were not always written down, she was like "a good pair of eyes" for her husband. She and Burnens would observe the bees, and then Huber would ask questions and form his own ideas.

In the first book Huber wrote, New Observations on Bees, Burnens was thanked in the introduction. Marie-Aimée, however, was not. Later, when Burnens left, Marie-Aimée took on an even bigger role. She did more of the investigations and all the observations, working closely with her son. Even when Pierre edited the second book, Marie-Aimée still did not get public credit for her hard work.

Discoveries About Bees

Thanks to their teamwork, Marie-Aimée and François Huber made many important discoveries about bees, including:

• How the queen bee mates.
• How bees use their antennae to communicate.
• How bees make wax for their hives.
• How male bees (drones) leave the hive.

See also

• In Spanish: Marie-Aimée Lullin para niños