Science Art: Octopos vulgo Graeco, by Pierre Belon (Petri Bellonii Cenomani), in De aquatilibus, 1553


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Pierre Belon was a naturalist in the Renaissance. He graduated from medical school, then apprenticed himself to a botanist and wandered from France to Palestine, drawing sketches of all the living things he encountered.

Unlike most scientists, he was assassinated, probably because he was a favorite of Kings Henry II and Charles IX of France.

[via Bibliodyssey]