Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec

Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec (12 September 1748 – 6 May 1793) was a French Navy officer. He took part in voyages of exploration in the Pacific Ocean under Bruni d'Entrecasteaux, looking for the lost expedition of Jean-François de La Pérouse.

Biography Early life Kermadec was born on 12 September 1748 in Bohars, near the city of Brest in France, into a Breton family of old nobility, to Jean-Guillaume Huon de Kermadec and his wife Anne du Mescam. His family had a long naval tradition, as both his father and grand-father were also Navy officers. His brother, Jean-Marie Huon de Kermadec, and uncle, François Pierre Huon de Kermadec, were also Navy officers.

Naval career He served in the American War of Independence, and saw action at the Battle of Ushant in 1778 and the following year was serving aboard the Diadème during the Capture of Grenada and the Siege of Savannah.

In 1781, he was made a Knight in the Order of Saint Louis. Huonville, the Huon Valley, Huon River also all in Tasmania, and the Huon Peninsula and Huon Gulf of Papua New Guinea.

Several plants also bear his name, including the Huon pine (Lagarostrobos franklinii) of Tasmania, the Proteaceae genus Kermadecia of New Caledonia, and the tree Metrosideros kermadecensis of the Kermadec Islands.