French agronomist (1774-1846).
Étienne Soulange-Bodin (1774–1846) was the French biologist botanist and army officer who is commemorated by his hybrid magnolia, Magnolia × soulangeana. Though he is otherwise scarcely remembered today, he played a major role in the organization of professional horticulture in France, 1815–1845. Born at Tours (Indre-et-Loire), he initially followed a course in medicine and grounded himself in the still closely related field of botany. In 1796, he served for a year as secretary to the French embassy to Constantinople, and then fulfilled several administrative functions upon his return to Fran