Lipkin, 2003). A senior director of the Phycological Trailblazer scienfic project was the zoologist Geoffroy No. 26 Saint- Hilaire. The keen interest in all things Egypan extended even to the algae, and a Alire Raffeneau Delile total of 35 species were collected: 23 species from the Mediterranean (in the vicinity of Alexandria) and 12 species from the Red Sea (originally printed in the Phycological newsleer. 2007. (Aleem, 1993). The large-formaed 62 plates Vol. 43 No. 1) were executed by the arst Henry- Joseph Redouté, brother of the renown Pierre- Alire Raffeneau Delile (1778-1850) was Joseph Redouté. Among the new species born at Versailles a decade prior to the described by Delile (1813b, 1826) was Ulva French revoluon. His father was equerry to fasciata (Fig. 1), a species now thought to be the king, and his mother was in service to the idencal to Ulva lactuca Linnaeus. He also queen (Duval, 1982). As typical of his me, described Fucus taxiformis [= Asparagopsis Delile was both a praccing physician and a taxiformis (Delile) Trevisan], Fucus botanist. By his high marks on a compeve nayadiformis [= Acanthophora nayadiformis exam, he was admied to the École de Santé (Delile) Papenfuss], Fucus cyanospermus [= in . Although he was apprenced to Dr. Palisada perforata (Bory) K.W. Nam], Fucus Brunyer, a physician in antennulatus [= the hospices of Cystoseira myrica (S.G. Versailles, he spent his Gmel.) C. Agardh], and free me wandering the Fucus tetragonus nom. gardens and illeg. [= Sargassum conservatories of the denfolium (Turner) C. Trianon. Conversaons Agardh]. with the eminent While Delile was in botanist Lemonnier Egypt, the French fleet shied his focus to was destroyed by the plants. Delile also met Brish Navy under the René-Louiche command of Rear Desfontaines, who was Admiral Horao Nelson influenal in Delile’s in the Bale of the Nile, decision to parcipate as or Bale of Aboukir Bay, a botanist in on 1 August 1798. This Bonaparte’s exploratory defeat brought French expedion to Egypt, designs in the Middle even though Delile was Alire Raffeneau Delile (from Rioux, 1994, Le East to an end. The only twenty years old. In Jardin des plantes des Montpellier…). return of Delile and his fact, Delile was a compatriots to replacement on the was inially blocked. But expedion for Desfontaines (Rioux, 2003). Delile and the others were content to carry This conquest of Egypt by the army of on their scienfic work. Delile was able to Napoleon in the period from 1798 to 1801 connue to collect plants, such as papyrus, was not only a military operaon but also a and to culvate many of them on the scienfic and cultural phenomenon (Silva & grounds of a villa in Cairo, which he

1 plants behind and would go to London with them, if need be (Duval, 1982). The Brish admiral was impressed by the arguments made by this twenty-two-year old, relented, and let the plant collecons leave with the L’Oiseau. Thus, in November 1801, Delile returned to France along with his valuable collecons. Back working at the “King’s Garden”, Delile succeeded in publishing on the Nile lotus and on the Liliaceae of Egypt, while he contemplated a more major work on the Egypan flora. But this me of great governmental upheaval (Napoleon Bonaparte had declared himself First Consul for life) was also a me when Delile suffered from melancholy and great inner turmoil (Duval, 1982). He had only parally worked up his Egypan collecons when he felt the need for a complete change of view. Napoleon himself offered Delile the new post of Fig. 1. Ulva fasciata Delile [from Delile, 1826, pl. 58, fig. 5.] subcommissioner for commerce in North Carolina, apparently as a way to interrupt Delile’s botanical career at least for a me fashioned into a (Duval, and to pull him out of his neuroc state 1982). Delile also was capvated by the (Duval, 1982). Thus, Delile accepted this sacred lotus (Nymphaea lotus), growing foreign assignment as a representave for along the banks of the Nile. He recorded the French government, and he sailed for careful observaons on its biology. North America, arriving in Wilmington. Eventually, the Brish troops entered There, represenng France, he worked to Cairo, and Delile and his fellow sciensts facilitate French-American commercial parcipated in the struggle. As the Brish relaons (Gillispie, 1970). He le that took the city, Delile and his fellow Frenchmen assignment in 1806 and moved to made every effort to evacuate with their Philadelphia where he worked with the scienfic collecons, which for Delile physician, Dr. Benjamin S. Barton at the included not only his herbarium but also his Pennsylvania Hospital (Stafleu & Cowan, living plants. Aer much travail, including a 1976). This led to his resuming his medical small caravan conducted at night with the studies there, and he connued his studies at help of a Muslim friend, Delile managed to Columbia College in New York City. In May load most of his collecons onto the brig 1807, he successfully defended his M.D. L’Oiseau. The ship was intercepted by the thesis on tuberculosis (Delile, 1807). This Brish on the high seas, and at first Delile’s thesis was dedicated to the late doctors collecons were confiscated on the basis (of Desgenees and Larrey, Chief Physician and “Arcle XVI of the Alexandria capitulaon”) Chief Surgeon, respecvely, of the Army of that the Egypan flora was classified as “art Egypt. Shortly thereaer, he was recalled by objects”. Delile protested to the English France to resume the job of eding the flora admiral, saying that he would not leave his of Egypt, a work that he completed in 1809

2 (Delile, 1813a, b, 1826). A second edion of under the Authority of the Trustees of the text appeared in 1824. Columbia College, in the State of New York, t With these accomplishments, Delile he Right Rev. Benjamin Moore, D. D. became a candidate for the professorship of President; for the degree of Doctor of at the Faculty of Medicine at the Medicine, on the 5th day of May, 1807. T. & J. University of Montpellier, but A. P. de Swords, New York City. 50 pp. ______. 1813a. Florae Aegypacae illustrao. In: Candolle was awarded that posion (de France (Commission d’Egypte), Descripon de Candolle, 2004; Bungener, 2004). This forced l’Égypte, ou recueil des observaions et des Delile to return to his medical pracce. Upon recherches qui on été faites en Égypte the collapse of the French empire in 1819, de pendant l’expédon de l’armée française, Candolle le France for Switzerland, and publié par les ordres de sa majesté Napoleon Delile was appointed to that posion, a le Grand. Historie naturelle. Paris: Imprimerie professorship in Medical Natural History at Impériale. Vol. 2. Fascicle 1. [i-iv] + [1]-144. the University of Montpellier, a posion that ______. 1813b, 1826. Flore d’Égypte. Explicaon des he held unl his death in 1850 (Rioux, 1994). planches. In: France (Commission d’Égypte), Delile had many and diverse publicaons, Descripon de l’Égypte, ou recueil des only a small fracon having to do with his observaions et des recherches qui on été experience in Egypt (Gillispie, 1970). His faites en Égypte pendant l’expédon de research interests included not only the algae l’armée française, publié par les ordres de sa majesté Napoleon le Grand. Historie but fungi, bryophytes, ferns, and seed plants. naturelle. Paris: Imprimerie Impériale. Vol. 2. He had a paper on the phenomenon of Fascicle 2. 145-462. Atlas: 62 pls. (1826). bioluminescence in the mushroom Agaricus ______. 1824. Descripon de l’Egypte: recueil des olearius DC (Delile, 1837). His reputaon as observaons et des recherches qui ont été having parcipated in Napoleon’s faites en Egypte pendant l’expédion de expedionary forces into Egypt gave him the l’armée française. Second edion. C. L. F. sobriquet “Delile l’Égypen” to his colleagues Panckoucke, Paris. 62 pls. in Montpellier (Rioux, 2004). The genera ______. 1837. Nouvel examen de la phosphorescence Delilia Sprengel (1823) of the Asteraceae, de l’Agaric de l’Olivier. Bull. Société Lilaea Bonpland in von Humboldt & d’Agriculture du département de l’Herault. 16 Bonpland (1808) of the Juncaginaceae, and pp., 1 pl. Raffenaldia Godron (1859) of the Duval, M. 1982. The King’s Garden. Translated by A. Brassicaceae were named in his honor. Tomarken and C. Cowen. University Press of Virginia, Charloesville. ix + 214 pp. Gillispie, C. C. (ed.). 1970. Delile (or Raffeneau-Delile), Aleem, A. A. 1993. Marine algae of Alexandria. Alire. Diconary of scienfic biography. vol. Published by the author, Alexandria. IV, pp. 21-22. Charles Scribner’s Sons, New Bungener, P. 2004. Mémoires et souvenirs d’Augusn- York. Pyramus de Candolle ou le récit de la vie d’un Rioux, J.-A. 1994. Le Jardin des plantes de Montpellier: savant botaniste. Archives de Sciences quatre siècles d’historie. Préface de Théodore [Genève] 57: 39-44. Monod. Edions Odyssée, Graulhet. 230 pp. Candolle, A.-P. de. 2004. Mémoires et souvenirs (1778- ______. 2004. Le Jardin des plantes de Montpellier. 1841). J.-D. Candaux & J. M. Drouyin (eds.), “les leçons de l’histoire”. Préface de Hubert avec le concours de P. Bungener & R. Sigrist, Bonnet. Sauramps médical, Montpellier. [iv] + Georg, Genève. Bibliotheque d’Historie des 114 + [ii] pp. Sciences, vol. 5. 591 pp. Silva, P. C. and Y. Lipkin. 2003. Marine algae published Delile, A. R. 1807. An inaugural dissertaon on by Savigny in the zoological poron of pulmonary consumpon. Submied to the public examinaon of the Faculty of Physic

3 “Descripon de l’Égypte”. Cryptogamie, Algologie 24: 371-386. Stafleu, F. A. and R. S. Cowan. 1976. Taxonomic literature. 2nd ed. Vol. I: A-G. Bohn, Scheltema & Holkema, Utrecht. xl + 1,136 pp.

I wish to thank Professor Jean-Antoine Rioux of the Faculty of Medicine of Montpellier, France, for permission to reproduce the image of Delile from his 1994 book, cited in the References.

Michael J. Wynne University of Michigan

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