Auguste-Nicolas Vaillant

Auguste-Nicolas Vaillant (2 July 1793 – 1 November 1858) was a French sailor who worked his way up through the ranks from common seaman to rear-admiral. In 1836–37 he captained a 21-month voyage round the globe in which the scientists made many useful botanical and zoological observations, later described in an 11-volume illustrated account. He was briefly Minister of Navy and Colonies in 1851 during the French Second Republic.