Description

Claudio Gay was born in Provence, southern France, in 1800. In childhood he developed a deep fascination with the natural sciences. In his youth, he traveled extensively in parts of Europe under the direction of the Italian botanist Juan Bautista Balbis, visiting the French Alps, northern Italy, Greece, Asia Minor, and several Mediterranean islands. In 1828 the adventurer Pedro Chapuis invited him to come to Chile to teach geography. Gay accepted the offer, and lived in Chile until 1842, working as a teacher and participating in scientific expeditions. Under a ...