Charles French

Charles French (10 September 1842 – 21 May 1933) was an Australian horticulturist, naturalist, entomologist and plant/seed collector who made significant contributions to economic entomology. Early life French was born in Lewisham, Kent, England, the son of John French (died 1848) and Ellen, née Tucker. Ellen remarried and the young French moved to Melbourne with his family in 1852. They settled in Cheltenham, a suburb of Melbourne. Career French became interested in natural history and was apprenticed to a nurseryman at Hawthorn, James Scott. French then worked at the South Yarra nurseries where he later met Ferdinand von Mueller, director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne. In 1865 Mueller appointed French to the staff at the Gardens. In 1873 William Guilfoyle was appointed curator of the Gardens and French was placed in charge of fern propagation in the nursery complex.