Louis Boutan
Louis Marie-Auguste Boutan (6 March 1859 – 6 April 1934) was a French biologist and photographer. He was a pioneer in the field of underwater photography.
Also recorded as Louis Marie-Auguste Boutan
Louis Boutan

Louis Boutan · Spiridon Manoliu's pictures · Public domain
- Born
- 1859.
- Died
- 1934.
- Nationality
- France.
- Occupation
- biologist, photographer, zoologist, marine biologist and diver.
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Louis Marie-Auguste Boutan (6 March 1859 – 6 April 1934) was a French biologist and photographer. He was a pioneer in the field of underwater photography.
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wikidata · Q706777 · wikipedia · Louis Boutan
In this article
Early life
Early life
The son of Augustin Boutan, he was born in Versailles and studied biology and natural history at the University of Paris.
Career
Career
In 1880, he was named deputy head assigned to organize the French exhibit at the Melbourne International Exhibition (1880). He stayed in Australia for 18 months, travelling the continent and identifying new animal species. In 1886, Boutan was named maître de conférences at the University of Lille. In the same year, he learned how to dive. In 1893, he was named professor at the Laboratoire Arago. During that year, with his brother Auguste, he developed equipment for underwater photography. In an article in The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine, he described his apparatus; the article included an illustration of one of his cameras and several underwater images. Boutan developed a flash bulb that could be used underwater. He later used carbon arc lights for illumination. In 1898, he published the first book on underwater photography La Photographie sous-marine et les progrès de la photographie. Slides of his underwater photographs were shown at the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris. In 1904, he was sent to Hanoi to investigate improvements to rice and the culture of pearl oysters. He returned to France in 1908. In 1910, he was named professor of zoology and animal physiology at the University of Bordeaux. In 1914 and 1916, Boutan and his brother worked on a diving suit for the French army. After the war, he began research into the artificial production of pearls, one of the first people to investigate this subject. In 1921, he was named director of the Station Biologique d'Arcachon. In 1924, he was named to the chair of general zoology of the faculty of science at the University of Algiers; he was also named director of the Station d'Aquaculture et de Pêches de Castiglione and inspector for the Algerian fisheries.
Later life
Later life
In 1929, he retired to Tigzirt in Algeria. He died there at the age of 75.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1859
Louis Boutan born at Versailles.
1934
Louis Boutan died at Tigzirt.
Legacy
The fish Boutan's whiting Sillago boutani Pellegrin, 1905 is named after him. Boutan was named to the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame as an early pioneer in 2010.

Identificatie Titel(s): Duiker in duikuitrusting onderwater. Portrait instané d'un scaphandrier (titel op object)
Rijksmuseum

La photographie sous-marine et les progrès de la photographie.
Louis Boutan · This file comes from Gallica Digital Library and is available under the digital ID bpt6k10250505
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reference work
- “Louis Boutan”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
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authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q706777: Louis Boutan
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Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Hannavy, John. Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Photography. Routledge. 1416–17. 2013. 978-1135873264.
- 2.Musée-Aquarium d'Arcachon. Louis Boutan. 25 June 2017.
- 3.Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Series EUPERCARIA (Incertae sedis): Families CALLANTHIIDAE, CENTROGENYIDAE, DINOLESTIDAE, DINOPERCIDAE, EMMELICHTHYIDAE, MALACANTHIDAE, MONODACTYLIDAE, MORONIDAE, PARASCORPIDIDAE, SCIAENIDAE and SILLAGINIDAE. The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. 22 September 2018.
- 4.Early Pioneers. International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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