Jeanne Baret
1740–1807 · French (Burgundy) · Age of Enlightenment
Known for: First woman to circumnavigate the globe—disguised as a man on Bougainville's expedition, collecting thousands of botanical specimens including the bougainvillea
Baret was a peasant herbalist who disguised herself as 'Jean Baret' to join Bougainville's expedition as botanist Commerson's servant and secretly his lover. She collected thousands of plant specimens, including the bougainvillea named after the expedition leader.
Her disguise was discovered in Tahiti—reportedly by Tahitians who recognized her gender immediately. She was put ashore on Mauritius and didn't return to France until 1775. The French Navy awarded her a pension, recognizing her as 'an extraordinary woman.'
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