science

Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire

Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire rather than just read about it. In short: Bélanger, Charles (1834). "Section IV. Carnassiers".

Key takeaways

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Reference excerpt

Bélanger, Charles (1834). "Section IV. Carnassiers". In Bertrand, Arthus (ed.). Voyage aux Indes-orientales, par le nord de l'Europe (in French). A. Bertrand.

Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (French pronunciation: [izidɔʁ ʒɔfʁwa sɛ̃t‿ilɛʁ]; 16 December 1805 – 10 November 1861) was a French zoologist and an authority on deviation from normal structure. In 1854 he coined the term éthologie (ethology).

Biography

He was born in Paris, the son of Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire. In his earlier years he showed an aptitude for mathematics, but eventually he devoted himself to the study of natural history and of medicine, and in 1824 he was appointed assistant naturalist to his father. In 1829 he delivered for his father the second part of a course of lectures on ornithology, and during the following three years he taught zoology at the Athénée, and teratology at the École pratique. He was elected a member of the French Academy of Sciences in 1833, was in 1837 appointed to act as deputy for his father at the faculty of sciences in Paris. During the following year he was sent to Bordeaux to organize a similar faculty there. He became successively; inspector of the academy of Paris (1840), professor of the museum on the retirement of his father (1841), inspector-general of the university (1844), a member of the royal council for public instruction (1845), and on the death of Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville, professor of zoology at the Faculty of Sciences (1850). In 1854 he founded the Société zoologique d'acclimatation (Zoological Acclimatization Society), of which he also served as president. He conducted investigations of omphalosites, celosomia, hermaphroditism, etc., and is credited with introducing the term teratologie. From 1832 to 1837 he published his great teratological work, Histoire générale et particulière des anomalies de l’organisation chez l’homme et les animaux. On 27 January 1851, he named and provided the first scientific description of Aepyornis maximus, an extinct giant bird of Madagascar, based on fossilized bones and eggs.

Genii/species described Genus Melogales and M. personata, the Burmese ferret-badger. Prionailurus rubiginosus, the rusty-spotted cat.

Legacy Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire is commemorated in the scientific name of a species of turtle, Phrynops hilarii. The scientific name of the black-and-chestnut eagle also commemorates him, Spizaetus isidori, as well as one of its common names, Isidor's eagle.

Selected works Besides the above-mentioned work, he wrote:

Histoire générale et particulière des anomalies de l’organisation chez l’homme et les animaux (1832–1837). Essais de zoologie générale (1841). La vie Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (1847). Acclimatation et domestication des animaux utiles (1849). Lettres sur les substances alimentaires et particulièrement sur la viande de cheval (1856). Histoire naturelle générale des règnes organiques (3 vols., 1854–1862), which was not quite completed. Saint- Hilaire made substantial contributions to the zoology portion of M. Charles Bélanger's Voyage aux Indes'orientales, par le nord de l'Europe.[1] He was also the author of various papers on zoology, comparative anatomy and palaeontology.

See also List of Chairs of the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle

References

Sources This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, Isidore". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 11 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 619.

External links

Works by Isidore Geoffroy SaintHilaire at Project Gutenberg Works by or about Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire at the Internet Archive Gallica Gallica has digital versions of works by Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire.

Illustrations

Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire illustration

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire

In research: Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1805 births, 1861 deaths, 19th-century French zoologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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Frequently asked questions

What is Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in simple terms?

Bélanger, Charles (1834). "Section IV. Carnassiers".

Why does Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire.