De Candolle, son of
Augustin Pyramus de Candolle, first devoted himself to the study of law, but gradually drifted to botany and finally succeeded to his father's chair at the
University of Geneva. He published a number of botanical works, including continuations of the
Prodromus in collaboration with his son,
Casimir de Candolle. Among his other contributions is the formulation, based on his father's work for the
Prodromus, of the first Laws of Botanical Nomenclature, which was adopted by the International Botanical Congress in 1867, and was the prototype of the current
ICN. He was elected a foreign member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1859 and was awarded the
Linnean Medal of the
Linnean Society of London in 1889. He was elected a foreign member of the
Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1878. He is also known for a study of the religious affiliations of foreign members of the French and British Academies of Science during the
Scientific Revolution that demonstrated that in both academies
Protestants were more heavily represented than
Catholics by comparison with catchment populations. This observation continues to be used (for example in
David Landes' 1999
Wealth and Poverty of Nations, cf. revised paperback edition, 177) as a demonstration that Protestants were more inclined to be scientifically active during the Scientific Revolution than Roman Catholics. In 1855 de Candolle published
Géographie botanique raisonnée. This was a ground-breaking book that for the first time brought together the large mass of data being collected by the expeditions of the time. The natural sciences had become highly specialized, yet this book synthesized them to explain living organisms within their environment, and why plants were distributed the way they were, all upon a geologic scale. This book had a significant impact upon Harvard botanist
Asa Gray. Alphonse de Candolle also had the unexpected distinction of triggering the adoption of pre-paid postage in the Canton and City of Geneva, by a long address which he gave to the governing council in 1843. This led to them issuing Switzerland's second postage stamp, the famous
Double Geneva later in that year. (Also see
Postage stamps and postal history of Switzerland). == Works ==