Félix Louis L'Herminier was a French pharmacist

Pharmacist

Pharmacists are allied health professionals who practice in pharmacy, the field of health sciences focusing on safe and effective medication use...

 and naturalist

Naturalist

Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...

 who was born 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 studied chemistry

Chemistry

Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

 and natural history

Natural history

Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...

 in Paris, and in 1798 travelled to Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...

, where he studied the flora and fauna of the island until 1829, when he returned to France.

He published several works on ornithology

Ornithology

Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds...

, including an important treatise on the role and function of the sternum

Sternum

The sternum or breastbone is a long flat bony plate shaped like a capital "T" located anteriorly to the heart in the center of the thorax...

 in birds. He has several species named after him, including the Guadeloupe Woodpecker

Guadeloupe Woodpecker

The Guadeloupe Woodpecker is a species of bird in the Picidae family.It is endemic to Guadeloupe.-Habitat:...

 (Melanerpes herminieri), the Martinique Curly-tailed Lizard

Martinique Curly-tailed Lizard

The Martinique Curly-tailed Lizard is an extinct lizard from the family of curly-tailed lizards . The Latin name commedorates the French naturalist Félix Louis L'Herminier. There are five museum specimens of which three are deposed in Paris, one in London and a further in Leiden...

 (Leiocephalus herminieri), and Audubon's Shearwater

Audubon's Shearwater

Audubon's Shearwater, Puffinus lherminieri, is a common tropical seabird from the family Procellariidae. Sometimes called Dusky-backed Shearwater, the scientific name of this species commemorates the French naturalist Félix Louis L'Herminier....

 (Puffinus lherminieri). His son Ferdinand Joseph L'Herminier

Ferdinand Joseph L'Herminier

Ferdinand Joseph L'Herminier was a French botanist and zoologist who was born in Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe. He was the son of naturalist Félix Louis L'Herminier , and a student of Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville , of whom he published a revision of works in 1827.As a botanist, L'Herminier...

 (1802–1866) was a botanist and zoologist.