Auguste Vinson

Jean-Dominique-Philippe-Auguste Vinson (4 August 1819, Sainte-Suzanne, Réunion – 27 August 1903, Saint-Denis, Réunion) was a French physician and naturalist. His father, François-Auguste Vinson (1791-1851), was a noted physician and politician.

He was educated in Saint-Denis, Nantes and Paris, where he studied medicine under Alfred Velpeau. After finishing his studies in France, he returned to Saint-Denis.

In 1862 Vinson was sent to Madagascar by Napoleon III to attend the coronation of Radama II. While here, he conducted valuable investigations of the islands' flora and fauna.

As a naturalist, he is known for his research of Araneidae (orb-weaver spiders) native to Madagascar, Réunion and Mauritius. Vinson is also credited for being the first scientist to successively cultivate cinchona on Réunion. Vinson was a corresponding member of the Académie des Sciences.

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