"Founded in 1635, the Royal Garden of Medicinal Plants became the National Museum of Natural History during the French Revolution, with magisterial chairs which were suppressed in 1985. During this 350-year period more than 500 scientists, men and women, worked in these two successive institutions. Although some of them like Buffon, Cuvier and Claude Bernard recall something to the common layman, most of these figures are presently unknown out of a restricted set of specialists. The lives and works of these scientists of the Royal Garden and of the Museum were therefore worth of report in a biographical dictionary which includes not less than 516 entries. These men and women with quite diverse social origins, training and characters explored all aspects of physical, natural and human sciences. They widened the field of knowledge, gave rise to new disciplines and institutions, assembled collections, and contributed to the spread of knowledge. Some of them were in parallel appointed civil or military officers, sometimes very close to the French central government. Either scientists with cabinets or great travellers, distinguished persons or unpretentious civil servants, all played a role in the history of the great institution they served."

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"When it was created in 1626 le Jardin royal des plantes medicinales had three chairs: those of Demonstateur des plantes, Pharmacy, and Pharmaceutical Operations. Apothecaries at the Jardin challenged the Sorbonne by giving the first chemistry lessons taught in France with public demonstration. Philippe Jaussaud's work traces the life, work and contribution of these apothecaries, who we now call pharmacists, to the development of the garden that has become a Museum. They held chemistry chairs there, but also distinguished themselves in natural history, chairs in zoology, physiology, plant physics and even mineralogy. The multidisciplinary nature of their training undoubtedly explains their diversity of interests and skills. Some, like Milne-Edwards or Fontaine were directors of the Museum. All of them, through the quality of their work, have left their mark in the immense field of scientific research. From Nicaise Le Febvre to Pierre Potier, via Nicolas Vauquelin, the author reveals a section of an original story, that of pharmaceutical sciences from the 17th century to the present day" (publisher).