François Boissier de Sauvages de Lacroix
Encyclopedia
Alès
Alès is a commune in the Gard department in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France. It is one of the sub-prefectures of the department. It was formerly known as Alais.-Geography:...
. He studied medicine and botany at the University of Montpellier
University of Montpellier
The University of Montpellier was a French university in Montpellier in the Languedoc-Roussillon région of the south of France. Its present-day successor universities are the University of Montpellier 1, Montpellier 2 University and Paul Valéry University, Montpellier III.-History:The university...
, and received his doctorate in 1726. After spending a few years in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, he returned to Montpellier
Montpellier
-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....
in 1734, where became conservator
Conservator
A Conservator is a judge delegated by the pope to defend certain privileged classes of persons — as universities, Roman Catholic religious orders, chapters, the poor — from manifest or notorious injury or violence, without recourse to a judicial process...
of the botanical garden
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
s. He was the brother of botanist Pierre-Augustin Boissier de Sauvages (1710–1795).
At the Botanical Gardens in Montpellier, Sauvages de Lacroix made several improvements to the facility, including installation of a heated greenhouse
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...
. He was a good friend to famed Swedish naturalist
Naturalist
Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...
Carl von Linné (1707–1778), to whom Sauvages de Lacroix sent botanical specimens from southern France for study and classification. Linné designated the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Sauvagesia
Sauvagesia
Sauvagesia is a genus of plant in family Ochnaceae.Species include:* Sauvagesia brevipetala, Gilli* Sauvagesia erecta...
from the family of Ochnaceae
Ochnaceae
The family Ochnaceae, or wild plane family, comprises mainly trees or shrubs, and more rarely herbaceous plants. Species of the Ochnaceae are found from subtropical to tropical regions. They are best represented in South America...
in honor of his French colleague, and in 1748 he was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences or Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. The Academy is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization which acts to promote the sciences, primarily the natural sciences and mathematics.The Academy was founded on 2...
, of which Linné had been a co-founder.
As a physician, Sauvages de Lacroix is credited with establishing the first methodical nosology for diseases. His classification was based on the framework created by Thomas Sydenham
Thomas Sydenham
Thomas Sydenham was an English physician. He was born at Wynford Eagle in Dorset, where his father was a gentleman of property. His brother was Colonel William Sydenham. Thomas fought for the Parliament throughout the English Civil War, and, at its end, resumed his medical studies at Oxford...
(1624–1689), and was in accordance with the methodology used by botanists. His classification system listed 10 major classes of disease, which were further broken down into 44 orders, 315 genera, and 2400 species (individual diseases). This system is explained in his 1763 treatise Nosologia Methodica, which was an inspiration to Philippe Pinel
Philippe Pinel
Philippe Pinel was a French physician who was instrumental in the development of a more humane psychological approach to the custody and care of psychiatric patients, referred to today as moral therapy...
(1745–1826) and his early work with mental illnesses.