1-156-282 - Oxford Science Archive/Heritage Images

Louis Antoine de Bougainville, French soldier, navigator and mathematician, c1890. Bougainville (1729-1811) was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1756 while secretary to the French Embassy in London. He served with distinction as aide-de-camp to Montcalm in North America during the Seven Years War (1756-1763). He joined the French navy in 1763 and in 1764 colonised the Falkland Islands (Iles Malouines). In 1766-1769, accompanied by naturalists and other scientists, he led the first French circumnavigation of the globe. After the beginning of the French Revolution be devoted himself to science. The climbing plant Bougainvillea is named for him, as is the largest of the Solomon Islands.