[Born at Aix, in Provence, 1656. Died 1708. Aged 52.]
Educated by the Jesuits, and intended originally for the Church; but
upon the death of his father he made several botanical excursions, and
finally devoted his days to the prosecution of his darling pursuit. He
visited England, Spain, and Holland. Tournefort did much towards the
foundation of a scientific botany. His special service was in
distinguishing plants from one another, and in preparing them by
classification for the handling of the more philosophic student. Like
the other botanists of his time, he had his own system of
classification. He was one of the first thinkers upon the geographical
distribution of plants. In 1700, he pursued his inquiries in the Levant,
whence he brought home, after protracted and perilous wandering, no
fewer than 1356 new plants. He published his “Travels in the Levant”
upon his return to France.