Louis Antoine François Baillon

Louis Antoine François Baillon (20 January 1778 – 3 December 1855) was a French naturalist and collector. He was born in Montreuil-sur-Mer and died in Abbeville.

His father, Jean-François-Emmanuel Baillon (1742-1801), a lawyer and correspondent of the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, introduced him to natural history. In 1798, Baillon began work at as an assistant at the Jardin des Plantes, a position he relinquished following the death of his father. Afterwards, he settled in Abbeville, and like his father, became known for his correspondence with famed naturalists. In his studies, the younger Baillon maintained correspondence with Franco Andrea Bonelli, Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire and Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied.^[1][2][3]

During his career, he continued and developed an ornithological collection that was initiated by his father, a collection that eventually grew to 6000 items. Baillon's collection (birds only) is now conserved in "Musée George Sand et de la Vallée noire" in La Châtre. In addition to birds from France, it contains exotic specimens from French voyages of exploration, notably birds from the expeditions of Jacques Labillardière and Jules Dumont d'Urville.^[4][5][6]

The single publication of LAF Baillon is the Catalogue des Mammifères, Oiseaux, Reptiles, Poissons et Mollusques testacés marins, observés dans l'arrondissement d'Abbeville.^[7]

Baillon's crake is named for him, as is Baillon's shearwater and Baillonius bailloni (saffron toucanet).^[8]

References

1. Gouraud, C. (2015). List of type specimens of birds in the Baillon Collection (La Châtre, France). Part 1. Non-Passerines. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club, 135, 131-153.
2. LeCroy, M., Gouraud, C. & van der Mije, S. (2014) The collection of Maximilian, Prince of Wied, with particular reference to the type of Falco tyrannus. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club, 134, 310-315.
3. Prarond, E. (1857) Baillon (Louis-Antoine-François). Mémoires de la Société Impériale d'Emulation d'Abbeville, [8], 620-651.
4. Gouraud, C. (2015). List of type specimens of birds in the Baillon Collection (La Châtre, France). Part 1. Non-Passerines. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club, 135, 131-153.
5. Gouraud, C. (2014) Eighteenth century bird specimens in the Baillon Collection, La Châtre, France. In: Mlíkovský, J. (Ed.) Proceedings of the 8th Meeting of European Bird Curators. Journal of the National Museum (Prague), Natural History Series. 183: 19-28
6. Gouraud, C. (2014) Extinct and endangered species and subspecies of birds in the Baillon Collection, La Châtre, France. In: Mlíkovský, J. (Ed.) Proceedings of the 8th Meeting of European Bird Curators. Journal of the National Museum (Prague), Natural History Series. 183: 29-38.
7. Baillon, L.A.F. (1833 [=1834]) Catalogue des Mammifères, Oiseaux, Reptiles, Poissons et Mollusques testacés marins, observés dans l'arrondissement d'Abbeville. Mémoires de la Société d'Emulation d'Abbeville, [1], 49-80.
8. [Jobling, J. A. (2015). Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology. In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.) (2015). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from www.hbw.com)].