Guettard, Jean-Étienne

Guettard, Jean-Étienne (zhän-ātyen' getär') [key], 1715–86, French geologist, botanist, and natural historian. He was curator of the natural history collection of the French scientist René de Réaumur (1741) and a member of the Faculty of Medicine of Paris (1742). From 1747 to 1752 he was médecin botaniste to the French prince Louis, duc d'Orléans, and later was also supported by Louis's son Louis-Philippe. He discovered the volcanic nature of the Auvergne region in France, mapped the mineralogical distributions of much of Europe, and collaborated with the French scientist Antoine Lavoisier on the preparation of a geological survey of France.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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