HUBER

huber, francois (1750-1831), swiss naturalist, was born at geneva on the 2nd of july 1750. he belonged to a family which had already made its mark in the literary and scientific world: his great-aunt, marie huber (1695-1753), was known as a voluminous writer on religious and theological subjects, and as the translator and epitomizer of the _spectator_ (amsterdam, 3 vols., 1753); and his father jean huber (1721-1786), who had served for many years as a soldier, was a prominent member of the coterie at ferney, distinguishing himself by his _observations sur le vol des oiseaux_ (geneva, 1784). francois huber was only fifteen years old when he began to suffer from an affection of the eyes which gradually resulted in total blindness; but, with the aid of his wife, marie aimee lullin, and of his servant, francois burnens, he was able to carry out investigations that laid the foundations of our scientific knowledge of the life history of the honey-bee. his _nouvelles observations sur les abeilles_ was published at geneva in 1792 (eng. trans., 1806). he assisted jean senebier in his _mem. sur l'influence de l'air, &c., dans la germination_ (geneva, 1800); and he also wrote "mem. sur l'origine de la cire" (_bibliotheque britannique_, tome xxv.), a "lettre a m. pictet sur certains dangers que courent les abeilles" (_bib. brit_. xxvii), and "nouvelles observ. rel. au sphinx atropos" (_bib. brit_. xxvii). he died at lausanne on the 22nd of december 1831. de candolle gave his name to a genus of brazilian trees--_huberia laurina_. pierre huber (1777-1840) followed in his father's footsteps. his best-known work is _recherches sur les moeurs des fourmis indigenes_ (geneva and paris, 1810; new ed., geneva, 1861), and he also wrote various papers on entomological subjects. see the account of francois huber, by de candolle, in _bibl. universelle_ (1832); and the notice of pierre in _bibl. univ._ (1886); also haag, _la france protestante_.