Jeanne Baret

27 July 1740 – 5 August 1807

Jeanne Baret (1740-1807) was a French botanist and explorer recognized as the first woman known to have circumnavigated the globe. Disguised as a man, she joined Louis Antoine de Bougainville's expedition of 1766-1769 as assistant to the naturalist Philibert Commerson. She completed her circumnavigation after years on Mauritius and was later granted a pension by the French Ministry of Marine.

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Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Jeanne Baret.

Life events

Born in La Comelle, Burgundy, France
27 July 1740

Jeanne Baret was born into a family of modest means in the village of La Comelle in Burgundy.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Birth ✓
Became housekeeper and assistant to naturalist Philibert Commerson
c. 1764

Baret worked for the botanist Philibert Commerson, acquiring considerable botanical knowledge and becoming his companion.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Joined Bougainville's expedition disguised as a man
c. 1766

Disguised as a man under the name Jean Baret, she boarded the storeship Étoile as Commerson's assistant, since women were forbidden on French navy ships.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Collected botanical specimens across South America and the Pacific
1767 – 1768

Baret did much of the physical work of collecting plants for Commerson, including in Brazil, where the bougainvillea vine was collected.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Her identity as a woman was revealed during the voyage
1768

Baret's disguise was exposed while the expedition was in the Pacific in 1768, though accounts of exactly how differ.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Personal ✓
Left the expedition with Commerson on Mauritius
c. 1768

Baret and Commerson disembarked at the French colony of Isle de France (Mauritius), where they continued botanical work until Commerson's death in 1773.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Relocation ✓
Married French soldier Jean Dubernat on Mauritius
17 May 1774

After Commerson's death, Baret married Jean Dubernat, a soldier in the French army, in Port Louis.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Returned to France, completing her circumnavigation of the globe
c. 1775

By returning to France with her husband, Baret became the first woman known to have circumnavigated the world.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Granted a pension by the French Ministry of Marine
1785

The Ministry of Marine awarded Baret an annual pension of 200 livres in recognition of her work on the expedition.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Died in Saint-Aulaye, France
5 August 1807

Jeanne Baret died in the Dordogne village of Saint-Aulaye at the age of 67.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Death ✓