Jussieu, Bernard (c. 1699–1777)

French botanist who laid out the gardens at Trianon in Versailles for Louis XV and taught both Linnaeus and Georges Buffon. His own system of botanical classification was eventually published after his death 1789.

Jussieu was born in Lyon and went to Paris 1714 to complete his medical and botanical studies. He travelled throughout Europe with his brother Antoine, the professor of botany at the Jardin du Roi. He began work 1722 as demonstrator at the Jardin du Roi, where he was responsible for many improvements in the gardens. He both taught and organized field trips for Buffon and Linnaeus. Jussieu graduated with a medical degree. Apart from a collection of letters to Linnaeus, little of his work was published.