Editing Jean-Henri Fabre (section)

==Biography==
Fabre was born on 21 December 1823 in [[Saint-Léons]] in [[Aveyron]], [[France]].
Fabre was largely an [[autodidact]], owing to the poverty of his family. Nevertheless, he acquired a primary teaching certificate at the age of 19 and began teaching in Carpentras whilst pursuing further studies. In 1849, he was appointed to a teaching post in Ajaccio (Corsica), then in 1853 moved on to the lycée in Avignon.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Autié|first1=Dominique|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tvvaAAAAMAAJ|title=Jean Henri Fabre: maisons, chemin faisant|last2=Astorg|first2=Sylvie|date=1999|publisher=C. Pirot|isbn=978-2-86808-136-0|pages=57|language=fr|quote=Avignon , les bruits de la ville Nommé professeur adjoint de physique et de chimie au lycée d ' Avignon en janvier 1853 , Fabre songe d ' abord à louer une maison à Villeneuvelès}}</ref>

[[File:Jean Henri Fabre Nadar.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Jean Henri Fabre by [[Nadar (artist)|Nadar]]]]
Fabre was a popular teacher, [[physicist]], [[chemist]] and [[botanist]]. However, he is probably best known for his findings in the field of entomology, the study of insects, and is considered by many to be the father of modern entomology. Much of his enduring popularity is due to his marvellous teaching ability and his manner of writing about the lives of insects in biographical form, which he preferred to a clinically detached, journalistic mode of recording. {{citation needed|date=October 2020}} In doing so he combined what he called "my passion for scientific truth" with keen observations and an engaging, colloquial style of writing. Fabre (translated) wrote:

{{blockquote|Others again have reproached me with my style, which has not the solemnity, nay, better, the dryness of the schools. They fear lest a page that is read without fatigue should not always be the expression of the truth. Were I to take their word for it, we are profound only on condition of being obscure.}}
[[File:The mason-bees (IA masonbees00fabriala).pdf|thumb|''The Mason Bees'' published in 1914]]
His ''Souvenirs Entomologiques'' is a series of texts on insects and arachnids. He influenced the later writings of [[Charles Darwin]], who called Fabre "an inimitable observer".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Darwin |first=Charles |title=The origins of species |publisher=New York : P.F. Collier |year=1872 |edition=6th |publication-date=1909 |pages=102 |language=en}}</ref> Fabre, however, was a Christian who remained sceptical about Darwin's [[theory of evolution]], as he always held back from all theories and systems. His special force was exact and detailed observation, field research, always avoiding general conclusions from his observations, which he considered premature.<ref>Grant, Susan T. (1976). "Reflections: Fabre and Darwin: A Study in Contrasts", ''[[BioScience]]''. Vol. '''26''', No. 6. pp. 395-398<br>- Yavetz, Ido. (1988). "Jean Henri Fabre and Evolution: Indifference or Blind Hatred?", ''History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences''. Vol. '''10''', No. 1. pp. 3-36.<br>- McCarthy, John Daly (1915). "Jean-Henri Fabre: A Great Catholic Scientist", ''[[Catholic World]]''. Vol. '''100''', pp. 662-670</ref>

In one of Fabre's most famous experiments, he arranged [[pine processionary]] caterpillars to form a continuous loop around the edge of a pot. As each caterpillar instinctively followed the silken trail of the caterpillars in front of it, the group moved around in a circle for seven days.<ref>Fabre, ''[http://www.efabre.net/chapter-iii-the-pine-processionary-the-procession The Life of the Caterpillar]'', Chapter III "The Pine Processionary: The Procession".</ref> He further was able to forecast low atmospheric pressure events by observing the behaviours of the caterpillars.<ref>Fabre, ''[http://www.efabre.net/chapter-iv-the-pine-processionary-meteoroogy The Life of the Caterpillar]'', Chapter IV. "The Pine Processionary: Meteorology".</ref>

He died on 11 October 1915.<ref>{{cite news |title=Henri Fabre Dies In France At 92; Noted Entomologist Was Described by Victor Hugo as "The Insects' Homer." |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1915/10/12/105042637.pdf |quote=Henri Fabre, the entomologist, is dead. He was born in France in 1823. Henri Fabre, whom Victor Hugo described as "The Insects' Homer," ... |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=12 October 1915 |access-date=1 October 2012 }}</ref>  
In the English speaking world, he became known through the extensive translations of his work by [[Alexander Teixeira de Mattos]], carried out from 1912 to 1922.