Constantine RafinesqueBorn 22 Oct 1783; died 18 Sep 1840 at age 56.Constantine Samuel Rafinesque was a French naturalist, traveller and writer who, in spite of work of variable reliability, still substantially expanded knowledge with extensive travels, collecting, cataloging and naming huge numbers of plants and some animals. Among these are many new species he is credited with being the first to describe. Years ahead of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, Rafinesque conceived his own ideas. He thought that species had, even within the timeframe of a century, a continuing tendency for varieties to appear that would diverge in their characteristics to the point of forming new species. Accordingly, he was over-enthusiastic at distinguishing what he called new species. He wrote prolifically, and often self-published. His work varied from brilliant insightfulness to carelessness. He had a difficult personality, was in his time often dismissed and died impoverished.«[He was born in Turkey, but his nationality came from his father.] |
