Freycinet, Louis Claude de Saulces de (1779–1842)

French navigator. In 1800 he and his brother Louis Henri Freycinet (1777–1840) joined the expedition sent out under Baudin in the ships Naturaliste and Geographe to explore the south and southwest coasts of Australia. An inlet on the coast of Western Australia is called Freycinet Estuary and a cape near the extreme southwest of the same coast also bears his name.

He was born in Montélimar, southern France. In 1793 he entered the French navy and took part in several engagements against the British in the early part of his career. Following his Australian voyage, in 1805 he returned to Paris, and was entrusted with the work of preparing maps and plans of the expedition. He also completed the narrative of the journey, and the whole work appeared under the title of Voyage de découvertes aux terres Australes, 1800–04 (1807–16). He also wrote Voyage autour du monde, 1817–20 (1824–44).