Jacques boucher de perthes biography of michael

Jacques Boucher de Crèvecœur de Perthes (French pronunciation:[ʒakbuʃed(ə)kʁɛvkœʁdəpɛʁt]; 10 September 1788 – 5 August 1868), sometimes referred to as Boucher de Perthes (BOO-shay də PAIRT^[1]), was a French archaeologist and antiquary notable for his discovery, in about 1830, of flint tools in the gravels of the Somme valley.

Life

Born at Rethel, in the Ardennes, he was the eldest son of Jules Armand Guillaume Boucher de Crèvecœur, botanist and customs officer, and of Étienne-Jeanne-Marie de Perthes (whose surname he was authorised by royal decree in 1818 to assume in addition to his father's).

In 1802 he entered government employ as an officer of customs. His duties kept him for six years in Italy, but upon his returning in 1811 he found rapid promotion at home, and finally was appointed, in March 1825, to succeed his father as director of the douane (customs office) at Abbeville, where he remained for the res