Sébastien Vaillant facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sébastien Vaillant
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| Born | 26 May 1669 Vigny
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| Died | 20 May 1722 (aged 52) |
| Nationality | French |
| Alma mater | Jardin des Plantes |
| Known for | botany |
| Scientific career | |
| Doctoral advisor | Joseph Pitton de Tournefort |
Sébastien Vaillant (born May 26, 1669 – died May 20, 1722) was a famous French botanist. He was born in a small town called Vigny in what is now Val d'Oise, France. Vaillant spent his life studying plants and made many important discoveries in the field of botany.
Early Life and Learning
Sébastien Vaillant showed an interest in plants from a very young age. He started school when he was just four years old. By the time he was five, he was already collecting plants. He would even move them to his father's garden to grow them there.
At six years old, he went to a boarding school in Pontoise. He once had a long fever that lasted four months. He later said he cured himself by eating lettuce with vinegar!
He also studied music. He learned from the organist at the Pontoise Cathedral. When the organist passed away, Sébastien took his place. He became the church organist at only eleven years old.
Later, Vaillant studied medicine and surgery at a hospital in Pontoise. Back then, studying medicine included learning a lot about plants. This was because plants were often used as medicines.
When he was nineteen, he moved to Évreux. He even served as a surgeon in a battle in 1690. In 1691, while still a surgeon, he moved to Paris. There, he met Joseph Pitton de Tournefort, a well-known botanist. Tournefort became his teacher and mentor.
Vaillant helped Tournefort write a book. It was called History of the plants that are born around Paris. This book was published in 1698. Sébastien also took lessons in anatomy and chemistry.
A Life Dedicated to Botany
Sébastien Vaillant's talent for botany was noticed by Guy-Crescent Fagon. Fagon was the king's personal doctor and a botanist himself. Fagon made Vaillant his secretary. This allowed Vaillant to focus completely on studying plants.
He gained special access to the Royal Garden. This garden was a huge collection of plants. Fagon even made Vaillant the director of the garden. Under Vaillant's leadership, the garden's plant collections grew a lot. Many plants came from faraway places, like the colonies.
King Louis XIV allowed a "Cabinet of drugs" to be built at the Royal Garden. This was a special room for medicinal plants. Vaillant was put in charge of setting it up and keeping it safe.
The garden also needed special buildings for plants from hot countries. The first greenhouse was built by Charles Bouvard. In 1714, Vaillant got permission to build another one. This helped them grow plants that needed warm weather.
Vaillant worked for 36 years on a very important book. It was called Botanicon parisiensis. This book listed and described all the plants growing in and around Paris. It also had many detailed drawings by Claude Aubriet.
Sadly, Vaillant became very sick and didn't have enough money to publish his book. He passed away before it was printed. The book was finally published in 1727, after his death. It became a very important work in the history of botany. It was one of the first books to describe the local plants so well.
In his book, Vaillant introduced new terms for plant parts. He used the words stamen, ovary, and egg in the way we use them today. He helped us understand how plants reproduce.
Vaillant often disagreed with the ideas of his former teacher, Joseph Pitton de Tournefort. As a sign of respect, the famous scientist Carl von Linné named a plant group, Valantia, after Vaillant.
Today, Sébastien Vaillant's collection of dried plants, called his herbarium, is kept at the National Museum of Natural History, France.
See also
In Spanish: Sébastien Vaillant para niños
