Charles Lucien Bonaparte | |
|---|---|
 Lithograph byThomas Herbert Maguire, 1849 | |
| Born | Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte (1803-05-24)24 May 1803 |
| Died | 29 July 1857(1857-07-29) (aged 54) Paris,France |
| Occupation(s) | Biologist, ornithologist |
| Known for | Iconografia della Fauna Italica |
| Title | Prince of Canino and Musignano |
| Spouse | |
| Children | |
| Parents | |
| Awards | Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium |
| Scientific career | |
| Author abbrev. (zoology) | Bonaparte |
Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano (French pronunciation:[ʃaʁllysjɛ̃ʒyllɔʁɑ̃bɔnapaʁt]; 24 May 1803 – 29 July 1857) was a Frenchnaturalist andornithologist, and a nephew ofNapoleon. Lucien and his wife had twelve children, including CardinalLucien Bonaparte.
Bonaparte was the son ofLucien Bonaparte andAlexandrine de Bleschamp. Lucien was a younger brother of Napoleon I, making Charles the emperor’s nephew. Born inParis,[1] he was raised inItaly. On 29 June 1822, he married his cousin,Zénaïde, inBrussels. Soon after the marriage, the couple left forPhiladelphia in the United States to live with Zénaïde's father,Joseph Bonaparte (who was also the paternal uncle of Charles).[2] Before leaving Italy, Charles had already discovered awarbler new to science, themoustached warbler, and on the voyage he collected specimens of a newstorm-petrel. On arrival in the United States, he presented a paper on this new bird, which was later named afterAlexander Wilson.
He and his wife resided in the Lake House in his father-in-law'sPoint Breeze estate inBordentown, New Jersey.[3]
Bonaparte then set about studying the ornithology of the United States[2] and updating Wilson'sOrnithology or History of the Birds of the United States. The revised edition was published between 1825 and 1833. His other publications included "Observations on the Nomenclature of Wilson's Ornithology" (in the Journal of the Philadelphia Academy) and "Synopsis of the Birds of the United States" (in the Annals of the Lyceum of New York).[4] In 1824, Bonaparte tried to get the then unknownJohn James Audubon accepted by theAcademy of Natural Sciences, but this was opposed by the ornithologistGeorge Ord who disliked Audubon's dramatic bird poses and considered him to be "a back-country upstart who romanticized his subject matter," according to the Audubon Galleries.[5]
At the end of 1826, Bonaparte and his family returned to Europe. He visited Germany, where he metPhilipp Jakob Cretzschmar, and England, where he metJohn Edward Gray at theBritish Museum, and renewed his acquaintance with Audubon. In 1828, the family settled in Rome. In Italy, he was the originator of several scientific congresses, and lectured and wrote extensively on American and European ornithology and other branches of natural history.[2] Between 1832 and 1841, Bonaparte published his work on the animals of Italy,Iconografia della Fauna Italica. He had also publishedSpecchio Comparativo delle Ornithologie di Roma e di Filadelfia (Pisa, 1827), presenting a comparison between birds of the latitude of Philadelphia and Italian species.[2] He created the genusZenaida, after his wife, for the mourning dove and its relatives. He was elected a member of theAmerican Antiquarian Society in 1845.[6]
In 1840, he became Prince of Canino and Musignano after his father's death and became involved in politics, particularly the anti-Austrian party that he joined in 1848.[7] He did not, however, lose interest in his favourite studies for he organized and presided over several scientific congresses in Italy.
In 1849, he was elected to the Roman Assembly and participated in the creation of theRoman Republic. According to Jasper Ridley, when the Assembly convened for the first time: "When the name of Carlo Bonaparte, who was a member for Viterbo, was called, he replied to the roll-call by calling outLong live the Republic!" (Viva la Repubblica!).[8] He participated in the defense of Rome against the 40,000 French troops sent by his cousinLouis Napoleon. He left Rome after the Republican army was defeated in July 1849. He landed at Marseilles, but was ordered to leave the country by Louis Napoleon. He reaffirmed his political beliefs the following year in namingWilson's bird-of-paradise (Cicinnurus respublica) in honor of the republican idea.
He travelled to the United Kingdom, attending the meeting of theBritish Association inBirmingham. He then visited SirWilliam Jardine in southern Scotland. Charles then began work on preparing a methodical classification of all the birds in the world, visiting museums across Europe to study the collections. In 1850,[2] he was allowed to return to France and made Paris his home for the rest of his life. In 1854, he became director of theJardin des Plantes.[2] In 1855, he was made a foreign member of theRoyal Swedish Academy of Sciences. He published the first volume of hisConspectus Generum Avium before his death, the second volume being edited byHermann Schlegel.[citation needed]
Bonaparte also studiedamphibians andreptiles, and is the author ofVipera ursinii, commonly known as Orsini's viper.[citation needed]
Bonaparte was extremely prolific and is responsible for coining Latin names for a large number of birdspecies. As of August 2019, in the online list of birds maintained byFrank Gill and David Donsker on behalf of theInternational Ornithological Committee (IOC), Bonaparte is credited as the authority for 165genera, 203 species and 262 subspecies.[9] He was credited withdescribing a rare Australian bird,Menura alberti (Albert's lyrebird), although this was based on a technicality as English ornithologistJohn Gould had previously described the bird but the supplement containing the description was published after Bonaparte had made reference to it.[10]
Lucien Charles Bonaparte died inParis[1] at age 54.
InLuigi Magni's filmIn the Name of the Sovereign People (1990), Bonaparte is played byCarlo Croccolo.[citation needed]
Prince Charles and PrincessZénaïde Bonaparte had twelve children, listed below:
| Name | Date of birth | Date of death |
|---|---|---|
| Joseph Lucien Charles Napoleon Bonaparte, 3rdPrince of Canino and Musignano | 13 February 1824 | 2 September 1865(1865-09-02) (aged 41) |
| Alexandrine Gertrude Zénaïde Bonaparte | 9 June 1826 | May 1828 (age 2) |
| Lucien Louis Joseph Napoleon Bonaparte, 4thPrince of Canino and Musignano and later a Cardinal | 15 November 1828 | 19 November 1895(1895-11-19) (aged 67) |
| Julie Charlotte Bonaparte | 5 June 1830 | 28 October 1900(1900-10-28) (aged 70) |
| Charlotte Honorine Joséphine Pauline Bonaparte | 4 March 1832 | 1 October 1901(1901-10-01) (aged 69) |
| Léonie Stéphanie Elise Bonaparte | 18 September 1833 | 14 September 1839(1839-09-14) (aged 5) |
| Marie Désirée Eugénie Joséphine Philomène Bonaparte | 18 March 1835 | 28 August 1890(1890-08-28) (aged 55) |
| Augusta Amélie Maximilienne Jacqueline Bonaparte (married the son ofCharlotte Bonaparte Gabrielli) | 9 November 1836 | 29 March 1900(1900-03-29) (aged 63) |
| Napoléon Charles Grégoire Jacques Philippe Bonaparte, 5thPrince of Canino and Musignano | 5 February 1839 | 11 February 1899(1899-02-11) (aged 60) |
| Bathilde Aloïse Léonie Bonaparte | 26 November 1840 | 9 June 1861(1861-06-09) (aged 20) |
| Albertine Marie Thérèse Bonaparte | 12 March 1842 | 3 June 1842(1842-06-03) (aged 0) |
| Charles Albert Bonaparte | 22 March 1843 | 6 December 1847(1847-12-06) (aged 4) |
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In conjunction with M. de Pouancé, he also prepared descriptive catalogue of pigeons and one of parrots which were published after his death. Among his papers published are:
He published several scientific papers on ornithological topics in theBolognese journalNuovi annali delle scienze naturali, as Carlo Luciano Bonaparte.[12]
as Bonaparte described over 500 species.
Several birds are named after him:
Media related toCharles Lucien Bonaparte at Wikimedia CommonsCharles Lucien Bonaparte Born: 24 May 1803 Died: 29 July 1857 | ||
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| Preceded by | Prince of Canino and Musignano 1840–1857 | Succeeded by |
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