Alfred Mathieu Giard

Alfred Mathieu Giard (1846-1908) was a French zoologist born in Valenciennes on August 8, 1846. He was a professor at the Sorbonne and served as director of the marine laboratory in Wimereux.

He is known for his description of "giardia lamblia", a gastrointestinal protozoan parasite that is named after Giard and Czech physician Vilem Dusan Lambl. The illness associated with the parasite is sometimes called giardiasis.

In 1905 Giard coined the word "poecilogonie" (poecilogony} to describe a phenomenon in which similar adults develop from dissimilar larvae in marine invertebrates. He died on his birthday on August 8, 1908 in Orsay.

Amongst his very numerous publications are 300 devoted to entomology.He was a figure of importance in applied entomology in France and a member of the Société entomologique de France.

References

*Lhoste, J. 1987 "Les entomologistes français. 1750 - 1950". INRA (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique) , Paris.
*Peyerimhoff, P. de 1932 "La Société entomologique de France (1832 - 1931)". Soc. Ent. France, Livre du Centenaire , Paris.

Sources:

* [http://www.sjgarchive.org/library/text/ontogeny/p0176.htm Discussion Regarding Poecilogony]
* German Wikipedia Page; Alfred Mathieu Giard