Jeanne Villepreux-Power, a pioneering French marine biologist made significant contributions to the field of marine biology during the 19th century. Her legacy is rooted in her groundbreaking work on cephalopods and is best known for her invention of the aquarium. Born to a shoemaker and a seamstress on September 24, 1794, in Juillac, France, Jeanne was also a dressmaker, author and conservationist. During an errand of outfitting a duchess for her wedding in Paris, she fell in love with an English merchant, married him and moved with him to Sicily, where she began to study geology, archaeology and natural history.
She conducted an inventory of the island’s ecosystem and later published her observations. Her curiosity led her to explore marine organisms, particularly cephalopods like squids and octopuses. While land animals could be observed somewhat easily, marine life was distinctly harder to examine in their natural habitat. Therefore, she designed the first known glass aquarium, a revolutionary invention that allowed researchers to observe marine life in controlled conditions.
Jeanne’s glass aquarium consisted of a transparent box with glass sides, allowing researchers to observe marine organisms without distortion. The design also incorporated a water circulation system, maintaining a natural environment for the specimens. This innovation not only enhanced the precision of scientific observations but also paved the way for future advancements in aquarium technology. In the 1830s, her home became a marine biology lab stacked with vast tanks to conduct meticulous studies on the behaviour, anatomy and life cycle of cephalopods, particularly the small sepia-like octopus Argonauta argo, known as paper nautilus for the thin, intricately corrugated shell of its females and the sail-like membranes protruding from it.
She documented the creature’s intricate shell-building process, shedding light on its adaptability and the architectural finesse with which it constructed its protective home. Sir Richard Owen, England’s preeminent scientist before the era of Charles Darwin, with whom Jeanne was corresponding, read her letters and presented her findings before the London Zoological Society as women were excluded from scientific establishments. Her groundbreaking discoveries illuminated an enduring mystery of a particular species and her research was published and circulated across Europe. Richard Owen called her the “Mother of Aquariophily”.