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23  May 2001: 

In hommage to Théodore Monod ...

ITEM: 015
SOURCE/AUTHOR:  Gary Wright, Editor, IOC
DATE:   23/05/2001

Proposed bust of Théodore Monod. Larger version

Commemorating the life and work of an accomplished scientist and remarkable humanitarian of recent times, a campaign has been launched to finance the production of a bust in likeness of Théodore Monod. This initiative was launched by Dr and Mme Jean-Claude Hureau, close friends of Monod. Hureau is currently Professor at the Laboratoire d’Ichthyologie of France’s Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (Paris), where Monod is remembered for his years of research and collaboration.

The project’s minimum goal was initially set at 150,000 French francs (circa US$20,000) by the campaign organizers. Although significant progress has been registered towards attaining this objective, additional contributions would be warmly appreciated. Inquiries and expressions of support, hopefully to be followed by concrete donations, may be addressed to: hureau@cimrs1.mnhn.fr. Please consult the web-site : http://www.mnhn.fr/mnhn/iga/membres/JCH/JCH.html.

Théodore Monod (1902-2000)

French by birth and upbringing, Professor Monod was widely known and admired for his basic outlook and energetic life work, both of which extended far beyond the bounds of his initial education and of his own native country. He is recognised as a major contributor to scientific knowledge, especially in his professional domain of ichthyology. However, and perhaps even more remarkable to a wider community, he also gained notoriety as a champion for the development of a much greater knowledge and welfare - one that eluded the confines of the classical structures to which one is normally accustomed.

In his ninety-ninth year and on the verge of departing on yet another expedition to Mauritania, Monod fell victim to a cerebral haemorrhage and subsequent paralysis which finally resulted in his death on 22 November 2000. The passing of this warm and vibrant human being was felt with regret by many.

Monod is a name which evokes fond admiration at UNESCO, particularly amongst those knowledgeable in the marine sciences. He was one of the founders of the colossal reference work, launched around the beginning of the 1970s, which resulted in the Organization’s publication of Checklist of the Fishes of the Northeastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean (CLOFNAM), and which eventually inspired its three-volume successor companion Fishes of the Northeastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean (FNAM). As an ensemble, these works represent ichthyological milestones and pace-setters for similar reference books that followed in that domain (CLOFETA, CLOFFA, CLOFRES and the still in preparation CLOFSCA.)

The breadth of Monod’s scientific accomplishments was considerable, but his zeal and passion for Africa were also high on the list of his attributes, ever evident in the work that he carried on courageously and relentlessly even into his latter years, in spite of encroaching blindness. A summary account of his fascinating life and extensive activities was published (in French) in the European journal of ichthyology Cybium,2001, 25(1) : 3-6. For our browsers who are sufficiently fluent in French, please click here for a copy of this article. Another and more extensive obituary will be published, in June 2001, as a special issue of the Journal Autres Temps, Cahiers d’ethique sociale et politique.