Marine Station of Endoume
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 The Marine Station of Endoume in 2009. | |
| Founder | Antoine-Fortuné Marion |
|---|---|
| Established | 1882 |
| Focus | Oceanography Marine biology |
| Head | Ivan Dekeyser |
| Endowment | CNRS, Aix-Marseille University |
| Formerly called | Endoume Laboratory |
| Address | Chemin Batterie des Lions |
| Location | , France |
| Coordinates | 43°16′38″N 5°22′38″E / 43.2772°N 5.3771°E |
 Interactive map of Marine Station of Endoume | |
The Marine Station of Endoume is an oceanography and marine biology research institute located in Marseille (France). It was founded in 1882 by Antoine-Fortuné Marion (1846–1900). It is today one of the sites for the joint research unit IMBE[1](Mediterranean Institute of marine and terrestrial Biodiversity and Ecology) hosting research teams from Aix-Marseille University and the CNRS.
Directors
The first marine biology laboratory in France outside Paris was founded in Marseille in 1869. The project to build a marine station in Marseille was initiated by its director Antoine-Fortuné Marion in 1872 and accepted in 1882. The station was built between 1883 and 1889, on the site of an old artillery battery in the neighbourhood of Endoume.[2] The first scientific studies started in the summer of 1889.
In 1891, the first public aquarium in Marseille opened at the marine station; in 1894, a marine natural reserve was created right in front of the marine station.[3] A-F Marion was director of the station until his death in 1900.
| Name[4] | Quality | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Antoine-Fortuné Marion | Professor of Natural science | 1872–1900 |
| Étienne Jourdan | Professor of Physiology | 1900–1919 |
| Gaston Darboux | Professor de Zoology | 1919–1921 |
| Albert Vayssière | Professor of Zoology, specialist of Opisthobranchia mollusca | 1921–1924 |
| Maximilien Kollmann | Professor of Zoology | 1925–1948 |
| Jean-Marie Pérès | Professor, member of the Institut de France | 1948–1983 |
| François Blanc | Professor | 1983–1996 |
| Lucien Laubier | Professor | 1996–2001 |
| Ivan Dekeyser | Professor | 2001–2011 |
Architecture
The original building had a single wing bordered, to its right, by a rounded turret containing the main staircase. It was extended to the left by a terrace flanked on either side by two stone staircases. Inaugurated in 1889 by Fortuné Marion, this original building was first restored in 1954 by Jean-Marie Pérès, and was succeeded by three other phases of construction:[5]
- building 2 (1958), at right angles to the original building, on the seaward side: laboratories and private apartments of the Director of the station. The left exterior staircase, of which we can still find traces, was sacrificed on this occasion.
- building 3 (1963), 850 m2 extension, on the north side: laboratories, workshops, plankton net room and offices.
- building 4 (1966), a construction independent of the other three, with a surface area of 1,080 m2, overlooking the Anse des Cuivres: laboratories, conference room, practical workrooms and dining hall.
- building project 5, which was to have been located above the laboratory garden, never saw the light of day for lack of funding.
These successive constructions, may have increased the research capacity of the station, nevertheless they made the original building ugly. Patrick Arnaud stated:[6] "It is quite unfortunate that the style of these buildings is so poorly matched to that of the original building, so ill-suited to the naturally picturesque coastal site, and unnecessarily motley."
On 12 October 1989, Jean-Marie Pérès and Robert Vigouroux, Mayor of Marseille, celebrated the centenary of the Endoume marine station, by unveiling a commemorative plaque located just below the profile of A.-F. Marion.
