Olivier studied medicine in
Montpellier, where he became good friends with
Pierre Marie Auguste Broussonet. With
Jean Guillaume Bruguière and
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck .
Jean-Baptiste-François Gigot d'Orcy later employed Olivier who was then able to travel to England and Holland meeting
Thomas Martyn in London. In 1789 and 1790 he published the first two volumes of the
Histoire naturelle des Coléoptères for Gigot d'Orcy, and simultaneously, thanks to
Daubenton's recommendation, collaborated in the ''Dictionnaire de l'Histoire naturelle des Insectes, Papillons, Crustacés
and collaborated in the creation of Journal d'Histoire Naturelle
(1792). Afterwards, he served as a naturalist on a 6-year scientific journey that took him to Asia Minor, Persia, Egypt, Cyprus and Corfu. He returned to France in 1798 with a large collection of natural history specimens from his travels. Later, he was associated with the École nationale vétérinaire d'Alfort'', where in 1811, he was appointed professor of
zoology. Olivier was a close friend of
Johan Christian Fabricius and a patron of
Pierre André Latreille. Although primarily an entomologist, Olivier also worked in the scientific field of
herpetology, describing several new species of Asian lizards. He also described a few plant species, including
Prunus arabica and
Quercus libani. ==Works==