BU Sciences collection
The Montpellier Faculty of Science was created by decree on July 25, 1809. At the request of the professors, the city of Montpellier granted them a set of collections inherited from the revolutionary confiscations (scientific samples or instruments, books), including the prestigious collections of the Société Royale des Sciences de Montpellier.
The collections thus attributed to the Faculté des Sciences are identified by a "Ville 1812" label indicating their provenance. Later, the library's inventory registers and the archives of the Faculté des Sciences (deposited in the Archives départementales de l'Hérault under the reference 15 ETP) must be consulted to learn more about the history of the enrichment of these collections.
In addition to monographs, the library holds important collections of old periodicals (some dating back to the early 18th century), as well as theses (the oldest dating back to 1842).
All scientific disciplines (mathematics, astronomy, physics, chemistry, botany, zoology, technical education), which reflect the evolution of scientific education in Montpellier, are represented: the botany and zoology collections are particularly rich; there are numerous publications on the occasion of scientific expeditions. The oldest work dates back to 1543.
From the outset, this collection has been enriched by bequests from Dunal, Gergonne, Girard, JeanJean, and many others of a more modest nature, as evidenced by the registers of deliberations of the Faculty of Science (Archives Départementales de l'Hérault).
More recently, it has grown thanks to the deposit of the library of the Institut de Botanique (2000), and that of the Station de Biologie Marine de Sète (1994). Other donations, such as that of the Animal Biology Laboratory, the Le Houerrou collection (2010), and the Avias collection, are currently being processed.
The Institut de Botanique de Montpellier collection
The fund
In 1889, seven university institutes were created in Montpellier, including the Institut de Botanique, inaugurated in 1890. Located in the Jardindes Plantes, it enabled CharlesFlahault, its first director, to bring together the various university herbariums in a single location. In 2000, the Institute, which had a rich reference library in addition to its herbariums, but no longer had sufficient human or financial resources to continue managing them, entrusted these collections to the University Science Library.
Contents:
Botany and other related subjects (meteorology, physics, chemistry, medicine, natural sciences), from the 16thcentury to 2000 (monographs, periodicals and theses). The Flahault collection (photographic plates and prints) also forms part of these collections, which currently occupy 500 linear meters in our storerooms.
The Dunal fund
Dunal (Michel-Félix), 1789-1856:
Son of a banker, he decided to turn to medicine, and botany in particular, which became his favorite field of research. He held the interim chair of botany at the Faculty of Medicine during DeCandolle's absence (until 1829) and was director of the Jardin des Plantes (1819). Professor at the Montpellier Faculty of Science in 1829, he became Dean until his death in 1856. His collections are preserved in the Herbarium of the Faculty of Sciences and in the University Science Library. His research focused in particular on mycology and the Solanaceae family; he continued the work begun by De Candolle, and worked with Toussaint-FrançoisNode-Véran tobuild up the collection known as the Node-Véran vellum collection, preserved at the University of Montpellier.
Contents:
A resource for the history of botany in Montpellier, this is the working library of an early 19th-centurybotanist. The oldest editions of this collection date from the 16thcentury, the most recent from the mid-19thcentury. It reflects the importance of networking for botanists from this period onwards, and the importance of documentary transmission in this discipline, materialized by the dedications of Dunal's correspondents.
The Sète marine biology station fund
The marine biology station at Sète was created in 1879 at the instigation of Armand Sabatier (1834-1910); in 1884, the town provided researchers with premises to which they were able to welcome a growing number of students and researchers, necessitating the construction of the present building, inaugurated in 1896. It houses research laboratories, an aquarium, a photographic laboratory, an extensive library and museum collections (shells, fish, etc.). Following a major administrative reorganization, the library's collections were transferred to the University Science Library.
Contents:
Marine zoology, marine environments.
The Pierre Jeanjean collection
Pierre Jeanjean (1789-1862):
He began his career as a chemistry preparator with Professor Anglada. He was then appointed preparator (or curator) of natural history collections, a post he held from 1825 to 1862, where he had to expand and manage the Faculty's teaching collections. On his death, he bequeathed his library, rich in works on zoology and medicine.
Contents:
Zoology, human and animal anatomy.
The Joseph-Diez Gergonne fonds
Joseph Diez Gergonne (1771-1859):
Professor of mathematics and philosophy at the Ecole Centrale de Nîmes, he became professor of astronomy at the Faculté des Sciences de Montpellier (1816-1836), then of physics (until 1844). Dean of the Faculty from 1820 to 1830, he became Rector of the Montpellier Academy from 1830 to 1844. He is best known for having launched theAnnalesditesde Gergonne, the first mathematical periodical of international scope, in which he published over 200 articles.
Contents
Gergonne left the Faculty of Science works from his working library (currently being identified), and three boxes of manuscripts: scientific correspondence and lectures on various themes.
The Charles Flahault fonds
The collection entrusted to BU Sciences in 2000 includes a collection of photographic plates and prints that he had commissioned from photographer friends to illustrate his field trips. The entire collection held by the BU Sciences has been digitized.
Charles Flahault (1852-1935):
Botanist, appointed Director of the newly-created Montpellier Botany Institute in 1889, Charles Flahault left a lasting mark on the history of botany teaching. During his career, he worked for the reforestation of the Aigoual, and left the library of the Institut de Botanique a large part of his working library.
Slideshow on Charles Flahault
Contents:
Botany, everyday life, forest environments, history of the countryside.