Museum national d’Histoire naturelle: France

The Museum national d’Histoire naturelle (MNHN) is the French national museum of natural history and is classed as a grand etablissement.

History

The museum was formally founded on 10 June 1793, during the French Revolution. Its origins lie, however, in the Jardin royal des plantes medicinales (Royal Medicinal Plant Garden) created by King Louis XIII in 1635, which was directed and run by the royal physicians. The royal proclamation of the boy-king Louis XV on 31 March 1718, however, removed the medical function, enabling the garden-which became known simply as the Jardin du Roi (King’s Garden)-to focus on natural history.

For much of the 18th century (1739-1788), the garden was under the direction of Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, one of the leading naturalists of the Enlightenment, bringing international fame and prestige to the establishment. Incorporated as the Museum national d’Histoire naturelle in 1793, it continued to flourish over the next century, and, particularly under the direction of chemist Michel Eugene Chevreul, became a rival to the University of Paris in scientific research.

A decree of 12 December 1891 ended this phase, returning the museum to an emphasis on natural history. After receiving financial autonomy in 1907, it began a new phase of growth, opening facilities throughout France during the interwar years. In recent decades, it has concentrated its research and education efforts on the effects of human exploitation on the environment.

Mission and organization

The museum has as its mission both research (fundamental and applied) and public diffusion of knowledge. It is organized into seven research and three diffusion departments. The former are Classification and Evolution; Regulation, Development, and Molecular Diversity; Aquatic Environments and Populations; Ecology and Biodiversity Management; History of the Earth; Men, Nature, and Societies; and Prehistory. The latter are the Galleries of the Jardin des Plantes; Botanical Parks and Zoos; and the Museum of Man (Musee de l’Homme).

Location and branches

The museum includes sites throughout France, including the original location at the Jardin des Plantes in the Ve arrondissement in Paris (metro Place Monge). The galleries there include the Gallery of Mineralogy and Geology, the Gallery of Comparative Anatomy and Paleontology, and the famous Grand Gallery of Evolution (Grande Galerie de l’evolution). The museum’s Menagerie is also located here.

The Musee de l’Homme is also in Paris, in the XVIe arrondissement (metro Trocadero). It houses displays in ethnography and physical anthropology, including artifacts, fossils, and other objects.

Two zoos, the Parc zoologique de Paris (also known as the Zoo de Vincennes), at the Bois de Vincennes in the XIIe arrondissement, and the Parc zoologique de Cleres, at a mediæval manor in Cleres (Seine-Maritime), are also part of the museum.