National Museum of Natural History
From a 17th century medicinal garden to the important research and teaching establishment which it is today, almost four centuries shaped by the Enlightened and core documents have given the National Museum of Natural History its complexity and deep originality.Under Louis XIII, a royal edict saw the creation of the
Royal Garden of Medicinal plants, one of the oldest scientific establishments in France. The Revolution was to change this status: in 1793, the activity changed: the art of healing with plants was succeeded by natural history.
During colonisation, a new field of activities began for the National Museum of Natural History's researchers.
In 1975, a restoration project for the premises and the grouping together of laboratories enabled spectacular achievements, like the underground 'zoothèque' (1986) and the transformation of the former zoology gallery into a huge
Evolution gallery (1994). The National Natural History Museum of Paris has major national and international significance in the development of natural history.