Joseph Paul Gaimard (1796–1858) was a French naval surgeon and naturalist.
Along with Jean René Constant Quoy he served as naturalist on the ships L'Uranie under Louis de Freycinet 1817-1820, and L'Astrolabe under Jules Dumont d'Urville 1826-1829. During this voyage they discovered the now extinct giant skink of Tonga Tachygia microlepis.
He was the scientific leader on La Recherche (1835–1836) during its expedition to the Arctic Sea. In 1835 Gaimard visited Iceland, returning again the following summer as the head of a scientific mission funded by the French government. Out of this trip came the 9 volume Voyage en Islande et au Groënland (8 text volumes, one of geographical illustrations), which was said at the time to be the definitive study of the islands. In 1838, he was the leader of a scientific expedition to Spitsbergen.
His numerous scientific publications include a major work on the results of each of these four great expeditions.
At least two species have been named in his honor:
- Eualus gaimardii (H. Milne Edwards, 1837)
- Byblis gaimardi (Krøyer, 1846)
Famous quotes containing the word paul:
“If you can actually count your money, then you are not really a rich man.”
—J. Paul Getty (1892–1976)