Jean Gattefossé

Jean Gattefossé (1899 – June 4, 1960, Casablanca) was a French chemical engineer from the "Lyon School," who also devoted himself extensively to botany. He was the fourth son of Louis Gattefossé, founder of the company Gattefossé S.F.P.A. From 1919 to 1920, his brother R.M. Gattefossé, who was the Director of Gattefossé S.F.P.A., asked him to conduct a survey of Moroccan flora. Jean Gattefossé, together with E. Jahandiez (1876–1938), carried out this mission and published not only details about the flora but also their impressions of Moroccan life and reality.

In 1922, he published "Les nouveaux parfums synthétiques" (The New Synthetic Perfumes). He moved to Provence, where he created a small factory to exploit local aromatic resources, taking advantage of the region's abundance of natural products. There, he studied many new aromatic plants for potential industrial use in perfumery. He became editor-in-chief of the magazine "La Parfumerie Moderne" and published numerous studies on perfumery plants.

Gattefossé developed a deep connection with Morocco, where he relocated in 1927. Tireless yet of delicate health, he explored the country by car, on foot, on horseback, and lived among indigenous populations, visiting unknown regions. He devoted 35 years to Morocco, significantly contributing to the development of aromatic and medicinal plant cultivation. A pioneer of local distillation techniques, he established numerous factories, guiding industries to cultivation centers and showcasing Morocco's natural potential for growing geraniums, roses, pennyroyal mint, lemon verbena, and more. His achievements reached their peak during World War II, a period during which he also deepened his studies on cotton.

Selected Publications

Books

• Gattefossé, J. 1921. Voyage d'études au Maroc. 37 pages.
• ----; C. Roux. 1926. Bibliography of Atlantis and Related Topics (Geography, Ethnography, Ancient Migrations, Atlantic and Mediterranean, Africa and America, Continental Drift, Flood Myths, Traditions, etc.) With 15 map plates and sketches.... Bosc Frères & Riou Printing, Lyon. 111 pages.
• ----. 1934. Cliff Granaries, an Ancient Collective Form of Agadir. Bulletin of the Prehistoric Society of Morocco.
• ----. 1938a. Aromatherapy.
• 1938b. Moroccan Export Industry [with a preface by General Noguès and contributions from M. Billet, R. Dupré, Henri Coursier, R. Jean, Dr. Eyraud, M. Boudy, P. Ricard, C. Fradin, Jean Gattefossé]. 1,964 illustrations.
• ----. 1943. Moroccan Plant Raw Materials: Wild Flora.
• Sauveclare, J. de; J. Gattefossé. 1946. The Bronze Gates.
• Sauvage, C.; J. Gattefossé. 1954. Morocco.