Claudio Gay, born in 1800, was a pioneer of sciences in Chile. Born in France, he dedicated his life to botany and entomology, though he was a university professor of geology, physics, and natural history for a few years in the city of Valparaiso, Chile.
In 1830, Gay was hired by Chilean government to document flora and fauna. The collection of species he made during his trip over southern and central Chile set the basis for the Chilean Museum of Natural History to be founded. Furthermore, the vast information he gathered was the base for Chile’s Cabinet of Natural History.
He wrote the Atlas of Physical and Political History of Chile (30 volumes!), and was honoured with the top recognition the country offers and Chilean nationality by grace. He also wrote the book “Chilean Flora”, which is the first exhaustive knowledge record of Chilean flora biodiversity ever in existence.
He died in his hometown in France, in 1873.
To this day, his work remains as one of the most important contributions for sciences in Chile, since the Chilean Museum of Natural History remains a highly valuable place for science to reach general public and for general public to reach science.
Claudio Gay was the founder of deep knowledge about botany in Chile, whose research allows us to compare plant biodiversity from 200 years ago to that of the present. He was a key character for us, Chileans, to get a proper idea of the rich variety of flora in our land.
Applied Plant Ecology Winter 2020 