| AdminHistory | Bernard Renault (1836-1904) was a palaeobotanist, botanist and naturalist, specialising in the anatomy of Permian and Carboniferous plants.
Renault was born on 4 March 1836 in Autun, France. He was the eldest son of Lazare Renault, who worked as a bailiff, and his Jeanne-Marie Goby. The family had limited financial resources and had to make significant sacrifices to provide a good education for their son. As early as 1855, he started teaching in a private school to supplement the family's income.
Renault studied physical chemistry in Paris, receiving his doctorate in 1867. Subsequently, he became an instructor of chemistry and physics at the lycée at Cluny between 1867-1872. He later went on to work at the Museum of Natural History in Paris, firstly as a preparator from 1872-1876, and then as assistant naturalist, a position which he held until his death.
Renault earned his second doctorate in the natural sciences in 1879 with his dissertation “Structure comparee de quelques tiges de la flore carbonifere.” He also printed the four-volume Cours de botanique fossile (1881–1885) at his own expense.
During his career, Renault wrote and published over 200 scientific papers, with a focus on Carboniferous and Permian plants. His most significant contribution was his extensive research and collection of precise data on the microscopic and macroscopic anatomy of fossil plants. He was the first scientist to account for all organs of the extinct gymnosperm family Cordaitaceae. Charles René Zeiller named the genus Renaultia in his honour in 1883.
Renault was a member of the Société éduenne des lettres, sciences et arts, Société éduenne des lettres, sciences et arts, the Société linnéenne de Normandie, the Institut géologique de Vienne and was elected a fellow of the Linnean Society of London in 1898.
He was deputy associate of the Carte géographique de France project in 1884. He was also a founding member and first president of the Société d'histoire naturelle et des amis du muséum d'Autun in 1886.
Renault died on October 16 1904 aged 68 in Paris, France. |