Louis François de Pourtalès

Louis François de Pourtalès (4 March 1824 – 18 July 1880) was a Swiss-born American naturalist, museum curator, and pioneer of deep-sea dredging, known for his research on corals. A student and collaborator of Louis Agassiz, Pourtalès was a member of a Pourtalès family French family that, in the early 18th century, emigrated into Switzerland and was ennobled in 1750 by the King of Prussia. The genus Pourtalesia was named in his honor. In 1873 he was elected a Member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. Quotes The study of the constitution and of the inhabitants of the Seabed bottom of the sea is a field of research that has attracted the attention of naturalists in comparatively recent times. What Humboldt did with regard to the distribution of life at different heights in the atmosphere, was done by Edward Forbes for the different depths of the ocean. The former's diagrams of the zones of vegetation on the slopes of the Andes are considered indispensable in every atlas of physical geography. But what one man could do where his glance embraced miles of country in height and breadth and where the types of vegetation could frequently be recognized as far as the eye could reach, an investigator even as zealous as Forbes could but sketch in broad though happily drawn lines for the marine animals. Contributions to the fauna of the Gulf Stream at great depths Bullefin of the Museum of Comparafive Zoology, Harvard University 1 6 1867 103–120 https://books.google.com/books?id=9kMZpkFgmDMC&pg=PA103 (quote from p. 103) The deepest cast was made in 517 fathoms; it gave a very handsome Mopsea, a crab, an Ophiuran, and some annelids.The difference of the deep-sea faunæ of the opposite coast of Cuba and Florida is very marked, although the distance is so small; of all the corals, for instance, described by me from the coast of Cuba, only two or three, and those in fragments, were found off the Florida reef. Deep-sea Dredgings in the region of the Gulf-Stream Annals and Magazine of Natural History,4th series vol. III 13 January 1869 https://books.google.com/books?id=i0h_bg5SiSwC&pg=PA93 92–93 An article by Henry Nottidge Moseley Mr. Moseley, in Nature (journal) Nature (vol. xvi. p. 475), reminds me of an experiment I made some years ago in Florida. In collecting corals on the reefs, I had of course become familiar with the disagreeable, though not very painful, effects of contact of the hands with Fire coral Millipora. But the vulgar names of Pepper-coral or Sea ginger induced me to try the effect on the tongue, to find out how far the taste resembled those condiments. I accordingly broke off a fresh piece and applied it to the tongue. Instantly a most severe pain shot, not only through that organ, but also through the jaws and teeth. The whole course of the dental nerves and their ramifications into every single tooth could be distinctly and painfully felt. I can compare the sensation to nothing better than to the application of the poles of a pretty strong galvanic battery. The pain remained severe for about half an hour, then became duller, leaving a sensation still perceptible five or six hours later. The whole impression was much too violent to allow the distinction of any particular taste. 8 November 1877 Effects of urticating organs of Millipora on the tongue Nature 17 419 27 https://www.nature.com/articles/017027c0 10.1038/017027c0 Quotes about Louis François de Pourtales Pourtales' range of learning was very extensive, and his command of it perfect. Nor was it confined to mathematics, physics, and zoology. He did not scorn to read novels and light poetry, and was knowing in family history and local history. It was a common saying in the museum that if Count Pourtales did not know a thing it was useless to ask any one else. Obituary Notice. Count Louis François de Pourtales Scientific American 43 September 25, 1880 https://books.google.cat/books?id=6ok9AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA201 201 Educated as an engineer, he showed from boyhood a predilection for natural history. He was a favorite student of Professor Agassiz, and when only a lad of seventeen had shared his labors on the glacier of the Aare Aar, being one of the party of Alpine explorers who, in 1840, made their home under the famous boulder known as the Hotel des Neuchâtelois. When his friend and mentor came to America in 1847, he accompanied him, and remained for some time with the little band of naturalists, who, first at East Boston and subsequently at Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge, shared his labors. In 1848 Pourtalès entered the United States Coast Survey, where his ability and indefatigable industry were at once recognized, and he remained attached to that branch of our public service for many years. Alexander Agassiz, Biographical Memoir of Louis François de Pourtalès, 1824-1880 Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences 1905 vol. 5 U.S. National Academy of Sciences https://books.google.com/books?id=I5jzgWN1sWgC&pg=PA81 79–89 External links Category:1824 births Category:1880 deaths Category:Curators Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Category:Zoologists from Switzerland Category:Zoologists from the United States