Paul Auguste Hariot

Paul Auguste Hariot (1854 – 5 July 1917), the son of Louis Hariot (also a pharmacist), was a French pharmacist and noted phycologist, best known for his 1900 publication Atlas Colorié des Plantes Médicinales Indigènes.

On qualifying in 1882, his rather quiet and studious life was changed by an invitation to accompany the botanist Émile Bescherelle (1828-1903) on an expedition to Cape Horn aboard the ship La Romanche, a trip during which he amassed a fine collection of algae.

On returning to France he studied natural sciences and was awarded a degree in 1888 whereupon he joined the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, working in the cryptogamic herbarium under Professor van Tieghem.

Here he worked on classifying specimens that had been gathered by Sébastien Vaillant (1669-1722), and those of the brothers Edmond and Charles Tulasne.

In 1890 he was awarded the Prix Montagne by the Academy of Sciences for his monograph on terrestrial algae of the genus Trentepohlia.