She Was The First Woman To Do This!

Jeanne Baret

Born in July 1740 in the Burgundy countryside, she grew up in rural poverty, acquiring an exceptional working knowledge of local flora and medicinal plants as an intuitive herb woman. In the early 1760s, Jeanne Baret entered the household of the renowned botanist Philibert Commerson. The two quickly became romantic partners and scientific collaborators, with Baret mastering the classification, collection, and preservation of botanical specimens.

When Commerson was appointed royal botanist to Louis-Antoine de Bougainville's round-the-world expedition in 1766, he faced an impossible barrier. A strict French royal ordinance forbade women from sailing aboard naval vessels under penalty of severe punishment. Unwilling to separate, Baret cut her hair, bound her breasts with heavy linen strips, donned loose sailor's clothing, and enlisted under the identity of "Jean Baret," hired as Commerson's valet and assistant on the supply ship Étoile.

Shipboard life was perilous, but Baret proved indispensable. With Commerson frequently incapacitated by chronic sea sickness and a severe leg ulcer, Baret took on the grueling physical labor of the mission. She hauled heavy wooden plant presses through the swamps of Rio de Janeiro and across the jagged mountains of the Strait of Magellan. During these treacherous expeditions, she was instrumental in collecting thousands of new plant species, including the vibrant flowering vine that Commerson named Bougainvillea in honor of their expedition commander.

Her identity was unmasked in 1768 when the expedition made landfall in Tahiti, where local islanders immediately saw through her disguise. Bougainville avoided a court martial by arranging for Baret and Commerson to disembark at the French island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean to continue their research. Following Commerson's death in 1773, Baret supported herself by running a tavern, eventually marrying a French naval veteran named Jean Dubernat.

Around 1775, Baret returned to France, officially completing the first recorded circumnavigation of the globe by a woman. Recognizing her immense contributions to natural history and her endurance at sea, the French Ministry of Marine granted her an official royal pension in 1785. Dying in August 1807 at sixty-seven years of age, Jeanne Baret secured her legacy as a fearless pioneer who disguised herself to help chart the botanical wonders of the world.