Barthélemy Charles Joseph Dumortier
Barthélémy du Mortier | |
|---|---|
| Born | 3 April 1797 Tournai, Batavian Republic (now Belgium) |
| Died | 9 July 1878 (aged 81) |
| Spouse | Philippine Louise Rutteau |
| Children | Eight |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Botany |
| Author abbrev. (botany) | Dumort. |
Barthélemy Charles Joseph Dumortier (French: [baʁtelemi ʃaʁl ʒozɛf dymɔʁtje]; 3 April 1797 – 9 July 1878) was a Belgian who conducted a parallel career of botanist and Member of Parliament and is the first discoverer of biological cell division.
Over the course of his life, Dumortier named over 688 different taxa, many of which are still in use today.
A statue depicting him can be found in Tournai, Belgium, the city where he spent much of his life. The statue was constructed in 1883, by sculptor Charles Fraikin. The statue was damaged by the germans during World War I, but was repaired. Dumortier is depicted in bourgeois clothes, with his right arm folded over his chest and his left arm leaning on political documents supported by a lion.