Louis Pierre Vieillot | |
|---|---|
 Bust by unknown sculptor | |
| Born | (1748-05-10)10 May 1748 Yvetot,Seine-Maritime, France |
| Died | 24 August 1830(1830-08-24) (aged 82) Sotteville-lès-Rouen, Seine-Maritime, France |
| Known for | Analyse d'une nouvelle Ornithologie Elémentaire (1816) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Ornithology |
| Institutions | Saint-Domingue,Hispaniola (nowHaiti) |
| Author abbrev. (zoology) | Vieillot |
Louis Pierre Vieillot (French pronunciation:[lwipjɛʁvjɛjo]; 10 May 1748,Yvetot – 24 August 1830,Sotteville-lès-Rouen) was a Frenchornithologist.[a]
Vieillot is the author of the first scientific descriptions and Linnaean names of a number of birds, including species he collected himself in theWest Indies andNorth America and South American species discovered but not formally named byFélix de Azara and his translatorSonnini de Manoncourt.[3] He was among the first ornithologists to study changes inplumage and one of the first to study livebirds. At least 88 of the genera erected by Vieillot are still in use.[4][5]
Vieillot was born inYvetot. He represented his family's business interests inSaint-Domingue (Haiti) onHispaniola, but fled to the United States during the Haitian rebellions that followed theFrench Revolution. On Buffon's advice, he collected material for theHistoire naturelle des oiseaux de l'Amérique Septentrionale, the first two volumes of which were published in France beginning in 1807.
Vieillot returned to France for the last time in 1798, where the position created for him at theBulletin des Lois left him sufficient leisure to continue his natural history studies. Following the death ofJean Baptiste Audebert, Vieillot saw the two parts of the "Oiseaux dorés" through to completion in 1802; his ownHistoire naturelle des plus beaux oiseaux chanteurs de la zone torride appeared in 1806.
Vieillot'sAnalyse d'une nouvelle Ornithologie Elémentaire (1816) set out a new system of ornithological classification, which he applied with slight modifications in his contributions to theNouveau dictionnaire d'histoire naturelle (1816–1819). There was bitter rivalry between the leading ornithologists and the classification introduced by Vieillot was strongly criticized byCoenraad Temminck in a pamphlet published in 1817.[6][7] In 1820, Vieillot undertook the continuation of theTableau encyclopédique et méthodique, commenced byPierre Joseph Bonnaterre in 1790. He also published anOrnithologie française (1823–1830).
Towards the end of his life Vieillot became blind. He was granted a government pension in his final year but died in relative poverty.[1]
Vieillot is now considered to be the authority for the scientific names of 88 genera and 402 species. OnlyCarl Linnaeus,Philip Sclater, andJohn Gould are considered to be the authority for more species. Viellot is commemorated in the scientific names of three birds:Lybius vieilloti (Vieillot's barbet),Coccyzus vieilloti (Puerto Rican lizard cuckoo) andSphecotheres vieilloti (Australasian figbird).[8]
Some[who?] believe thatLeach's Storm-petrel should be named Vieillot's Storm-petrel since he was the first to obtain a specimen of the species and to describe it. He did this in theNew Dictionary of Natural History, published in 1817. He described the type location as the shores ofPicardy, "se tient sur l"Ocean."
Louis-Pierre (or Louis Jean Pierre) Vieillot, was born, say his biographers, at Yvetôt on the 10th May, 1748.
