Jacques Barbeu-Dubourg (368)

Jaques Barbeu-Dubourg (15 February 1709–13 December 1779) was a physician, botanist, historian, publisher, and a member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1775. Born in Mayenne, France, Dubourg rejected the ecclesiastical career path of his elder brothers, and instead dedicated himself to mathematics and languages before pursuing medicine in Paris. Having graduated by 1743, he became a doctor of the Faculty of Paris in 1748. Dubourg’s influence on the medical field led to the rejection of blood-letting as a treatment for inflammation, and a reconsideration on the duration of pregnancy. He also distinguished himself in botany and history. A dedicated student of the Atlantic Enlightenment, he was close with Rousseau, and in his Gazette d’Épidaure, Dubourg was the first to publish the works of Benjamin Franklin in French (1752). The two men began regularly corresponding around 1768, and Dubourg translated many of Franklin’s works into French. When hostilities between Britain and America began to boil over, Dubourg dedicated himself to the American cause: he became one of the first to suggest the Americans attempt to procure French aid; he distributed pro-American literature and sentiments in French circles; he personally selected many of the French and other European military personnel who fought alongside the Americans; and he served as a contact for American emissaries to France. In fact, his dedication was so intense that he bankrupted himself with various schemes to procure weaponry and arrange lucrative trade deals between the two nations, oftentimes biting off more than he could chew in the process. He died penniless.