Biography

Swiss botanist and surgeon, correspondent of Linnaeus. Allamand described several plant species he found while in Suriname with the Dutch navy. Frédéric Allamand was born in Payerne, near Lausanne, Switzerland, and moved at the age of 14 to live with his uncle in Holland. His uncle, Jean-Nicolas-Sébastien Allamand, was a well known naturalist and professor at Leiden University, who no doubt stimulated his nephew's early interest in the subject. Graduating from Leiden University in medicine, Allamand joined the Dutch navy in 1760 as a ship's surgeon and travelled overseas to places including Suriname in 1756 and 1760. A keen botanist, he made many observations about the plant life and other natural resources of the country, which he shared with Carl Linnaeus. He also made a collection of dried specimens, many of which he later gave to Linnaeus. On his return to Europe Allamand was appointed physician at the Russian tsar's court in St. Petersburg, where he remained until 1793, after which he took up a professorship at Leiden. Little is known of his life after this. The South American genus Allamanda L. is named after him.

Sources:
F. Markgraf and R. Steiger, 1969, "F. Allamand und seine botanische beobachtungen", Taxon, 18(4): 421-424; 1972, Taxon, 21(2/3): 378.

Biography

Swiss botanist and surgeon, correspondent of Linnaeus. Allamand described several plant species he found while in Suriname with the Dutch navy. Frédéric Allamand was born in Payerne, near Lausanne, Switzerland, and moved at the age of 14 to live with his uncle in Holland. His uncle, Jean-Nicolas-Sébastien Allamand, was a well known naturalist and professor at Leiden University, who no doubt stimulated his nephew's early interest in the subject. Graduating from Leiden University in medicine, Allamand joined the Dutch navy in 1760 as a ship's surgeon and travelled overseas to places including Suriname in 1756 and 1760. A keen botanist, he made many observations about the plant life and other natural resources of the country, which he shared with Carl Linnaeus. He also made a collection of dried specimens, many of which he later gave to Linnaeus. On his return to Europe Allamand was appointed physician at the Russian tsar's court in St. Petersburg, where he remained until 1793, after which he took up a professorship at Leiden. Little is known of his life after this. The South American genus Allamanda L. is named after him.

Sources:
F. Markgraf and R. Steiger, 1969, "F. Allamand und seine botanische beobachtungen", Taxon, 18(4): 421-424; 1972, Taxon, 21(2/3): 378.

Biography

Swiss botanist and surgeon, correspondent of Linnaeus. Allamand described several plant species he found while in Suriname with the Dutch navy. Frédéric Allamand was born in Payerne, near Lausanne, Switzerland, and moved at the age of 14 to live with his uncle in Holland. His uncle, Jean-Nicolas-Sébastien Allamand, was a well known naturalist and professor at Leiden University, who no doubt stimulated his nephew's early interest in the subject. Graduating from Leiden University in medicine, Allamand joined the Dutch navy in 1760 as a ship's surgeon and travelled overseas to places including Suriname in 1756 and 1760. A keen botanist, he made many observations about the plant life and other natural resources of the country, which he shared with Carl Linnaeus. He also made a collection of dried specimens, many of which he later gave to Linnaeus. On his return to Europe Allamand was appointed physician at the Russian tsar's court in St. Petersburg, where he remained until 1793, after which he took up a professorship at Leiden. Little is known of his life after this. The South American genus Allamanda L. is named after him.

Sources:
F. Markgraf and R. Steiger, 1969, "F. Allamand und seine botanische beobachtungen", Taxon, 18(4): 421-424; 1972, Taxon, 21(2/3): 378.