Person
Laporte, François Louis (1810 - 1880)
- Born
- 25 December 1810
London, England - Died
- 4 February 1880
East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia - Occupation
- Diplomat, Entomologist and Ichthyologist
- Alternative Names
- Comte de Castelnau (Also known as)
- Delaporte, François Louis (Also known as)
- François Louis Nompar de Caumont La Port Comte de Castelnau (Also known as)
Summary
François Laporte was born in England and studied natural science in France. He worked as a diplomat in many of the French colonies and was appointed Consul-General for France in Melbourne (1864). He was an avid explorer and collector who travelled to the USA, Canada, South America, South Africa and Asia before arriving in Australia. He studied mainly insects and fish and many of his collected specimens are housed at the National Museum in Melbourne. Laporte was known by many pseudonyms including the all-encompassing François Louis Nompar de Caumont La Port Comte de Castelnau which is believed to be the name on his death certificate. He wrote over ninety books and articles in total under the names of Laporte, Delaporte and Castelnau.
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Details
Chronology
- 1837 - 1841
- Career position - Travelled to the USA (Texas) and Canada
- 1843 - 1847
- Career position - Expedition from Rio de Janeiro to Lima to collect specimens from the Amazon River
- 1848 - 1856?
- Career position - French consul at Bahia, Brazil
- 1856 - 1858
- Career position - Expedition to South Africa and Asia
- 1862
- Life event - Arrived in Australia (Melbourne)
- 1864 -
- Career position - Consul-General for France, Melbourne
- 1876
- Career position - Visits to Sydney and Brisbane
Published resources
Books
- Musgrave, A., Bibliography of Australian entomology, 1775-1930: with biographical notes on authors and collectors (Sydney: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, 1932), 380 pp. Details
Book Sections
- Whitley, G. P., 'Laporte, Francois Louis Nompar De Caumont, Comte De Castelnau (1810-1880), naturalist and diplomat' in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Douglas Pike, ed., vol. 5 (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1974), pp. 64-65. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A050073b.htm. Details
Journal Articles
- Whitley, G. P., 'Francois Laporte, Count Castelnau, 1810-1880 [includes bibliography of writings]', Australian Zoologist, 13 (2) (1965), 93-102. Details
McCarthy, G.J.
Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 30 November 2021
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