Louis François de Pourtalès

Louis François de Pourtalès (4 March 1824 – 18 July 1880) was a Franco-American naturalist, born at Neuchâtel, Switzerland.

Early life and education Pourtales was born on 4 March 1824 and regarded as a Swiss representative of an old family with lineage in France, Prussia, and Bohemia. After the death of his father, he succeeded to the title of Count and inherited a fortune that enabled his scientific pursuits.

In 1871, Pourtalès published one of his most famous works, Deep Sea Corals based on his memoirs as the first in the United States to undertake deep-sea dredging with and was an authority on marine zoology. A second memoir was published on the results of the Hassler Expedition.

Honors and awards The name Pourtalesia was given to a genus of sea urchins as found by the Challenger expedition.

Works He published, under the auspices of the museum, several works, including: