Mirbel, Charles-François Brisseau de. Article #9. Vol 8, pg 181.
Charles-François Brisseau de Mirbel is one of those guys that’s a pioneer in his own field (Botany, in this case), well-known by people today working in the field, but virtually unknown to the rest of the world.
Mirbel was a Botanical trailblazer. Specifically, he wrote some pivotal works on cytology (the study of cells) and plant physiology.
Mirbel had it pretty good. In 1803, Napoleon’s wife Josephine appointed him supervisor of the gardens of La Malmaison, a dilapidated chateau. This was the perfect place for Mirbel to study plant physiology, based on a catalogue of all plants at Malmaison that he compiled.
One of Josephine’s passions was roses and, during this period, she worked on trying to get at least one example of every known species of rose. Ces belles roses!
“Mirbel, Charles-François Brisseau de.” Encyclopedia Britannica. 15th ed. 2010. Vol 8, pg 181.
Britannica Geek 
We are mighty partial to all things regarding the rose. This is great info. Most of the modern roses we have today have their origins at Malmaison and are due largely in part to the work of gentlemen such as this. Thanks for this post.
Pingback: Charles-François Brisseau de Mirbel | Garden Roses | Scoop.it