Carolus Clusius (redirected from Charles de l'Écluse)

Clusius, Carolus 

(Charles de Lécluse). Born Feb. 19, 1526, in Arras; died Apr. 4, 1609, in Leiden. French naturalist and physician. Clusius studied in Switzerland, Germany, and France. Later he directed the botanical gardens in Vienna; he became a professor at the University of Leiden in 1593. Clusius gave the first descriptions of many plants and animals of Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South America. He defined several plant families for the first time. Clusius helped introduce cultivation of the potato to Europe.

REFERENCE

Hunger, F. W. T. Charles de l’Escluse, vols. 1–2. The Hague, 1927–43.