Notes on Jean Julien Houten de Labillaediere

Jean Julien Houton de la Billardiere, born in Alengon (Orne), 28th October, 1755; died in Paris, 8th January, 1834. He graduated in medicine in the University of Montpellier, but subsequently devoted his studies almost exclusively to botany. For this purpose he traversed first the European Alps, and travelled, then, through some portion of Britain. In 1786 and 1788 he was sent by Louis XVI. on a botanic exploration of Syria, which brought him also to the Lebanon. The literary result of this journey was his work, " Icones plantarum Syriae rariores," the first part of which appeared in 1791. When in 1792 the first search expedition was sent out under Admiral d'Entrecasteaux to ascertain the fate of Count La Perouse and his crew, M. de la Billardiere became botanist of the expedition, and had thus the splendid opportunity of rendering known much of the vast vegetation of South-west Australia (King George's Sound having only in the year before been discovered by Captain Vancouver), and also of the southern part of Tasmania, he being the first to explore phytologially the region where now the town of Hobart stands, although Bruni Island was visited during Cook's second and third expeditions in 1773 and 1777 already.