The scene takes place in December 1964, in Paris, at the National Museum of Natural History (MNHN). Jean-Pierre Lehman, who was chairman of paleontology there, invited a student into his office and explained to him that in Niger, geologists from the Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), searching for uranium to fuel the French civil nuclear program desired by Charles de Gaulle, had discovered fossil bones. And their identification will make it possible to determine the age of the geological layers containing them. Do the students agree to take on this mission and leave for the Ténéré desert? In the spirit of his 24th birthday, Philippe Taquet said yes: “I have never been to Africahe told us, fifty-seven years later, in 2021. Jean-Pierre Lehman took a plane ticket out of his drawer, told me that I would leave the following Monday and that I must not forget to take Nivaquine, to fight malaria. »
The “yes” that Philippe Taquet said that day in December 1964 changed and shaped his life. “In fact, he wrote in Dinosaur Tracks (Odile Jacob, 1994), I answered yes to the following question: “Do you agree to take a paleontologist as your wife and serve her faithfully until the end of your days?” » Until the end of his life, Philippe Taquet kept his oath. The great dinosaur hunter before the Immortal, paleontologist until the end of his life, spiritual great-grandson of the founder of this discipline, Georges Cuvier (1769-1832), to whom he dedicated his biography, died on November 16 in Paris, at the age of 85, his family announced to World.
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