Creation of the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle

Background. The Jardin des Plantes, formerly the Jardin du Roi, originated in the 17th century as a garden for growing medicinal plants, its official name shortened from Jardin Royal des Plantes Médicinales. It is the main botanical garden in France, covering 28 hectares of the 5th arrondissement of Paris on the left bank of the Seine.

Revolutionary Reorganization. On June 7, 1793, the National Convention ordered a complete transformation of the former royal institutions. The formal establishment of the Museum of Natural History followed on June 10, 1793, when the Convention combined the Royal Garden of Plants and the Cabinet of Natural Sciences into a single organization, at the same time that it established the Louvre Museum.

Establishment and Structure. The museum was formally established on June 10, 1793, by the French Convention, at the same time that it established the Louvre Museum. The transformation from the king's medicinal garden to a national public museum required the creation of twelve chaired positions, whose holders include major figures in the history of the natural sciences.