Editing Felipe Poey (section)

==Biography==
Poey was born in [[Havana]], the son of French and Spanish parents. He spent several years (1804 to 1807) of his life in [[Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques|Pau]] then studied law in [[Madrid]]. He became a [[lawyer]] in [[Spain]] but was forced to leave due to his [[freethought|liberal ideas]], returning to Cuba in 1823. He began to concentrate on the study of the [[natural science]] and traveled to France in 1825 with his wife. He began writing on the [[butterflies]] of Cuba and acquiring knowledge on [[fish]], later supplying [[Georges Cuvier]] and [[Achille Valenciennes|Valenciennes]] with fish specimens from Cuba. He took part in the foundation, in 1832, of the [[Société Entomologique de France]].

Poey returned to Cuba in 1833 where he founded the Museum of Natural History in 1839. In 1842, he became the first professor of zoology and [[comparative anatomy]] at the [[University of Havana]]. He also took part in the creation of the Academy of Science (natural, physical and medical) of Havana and was a president of the Anthropological Society.