Antonio José Cavanilles (16 January 1745 – 5 May 1804) was a leading Spanish taxonomic botanist of the 18th century. He named many plants, particularly from Oceania. He named at least 100 genera, about 54 of which were still used in 2004, including Dahlia, Calycera, Cobaea, Galphimia, and Oleandra. Biography Cavanilles was born in Valencia. He lived in Paris from 1777 to 1781, where he followed careers as a clergyman and a botanist, thanks to André Thouin and Antoine Laurent de Jussieu. He was one of the first Spanish scientists to use the classification method invented by Carl Linnaeus. From Paris he moved to Madrid, where he was director of the Royal Botanical Garden and Professor of botany from 1801 to 1804. In 1804, Cavanilles was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia. He died in Madrid in 1804. Selected publications Icones et descriptiones plantarum, quae aut sponte in Hispania crescunt, aut in hortis hospitantur..., Madrid, 1791-1801 See also List of plants of Caatinga vegetation of Brazil List of plants of Cerrado vegetation of Brazil List of Roman Catholic scientist-clerics References Further reading External links Biography by the Australian National Botanic Gardens Malpighiaceae/Cavanilles Monadelphiæ classis dissertationes decem on the Internet Archive Chronophobia Scans of 160 plates from Monadelphiæ classis dissertationes decem Antonio José Cavanilles. Polymath Virtual Library, Fundación Ignacio Larramendi 1745 births 1804 deaths People from Valencia 18th-century Spanish botanists Pteridologists Catholic clergy scientists Botanical illustrators