Francois Victor Massena, 2nd Duke of Rivoli

Who was Francois Victor Massena, 2nd Duke of Rivoli?

François Victor Masséna, 2nd Duke of Rivoli and 3rd Prince of Essling was an amateur ornithologist. He was the youngest of four children of André Masséna, Marshal of France.

Masséna accumulated a large bird collection of 12,500 specimens, which he sold to Dr Thomas Bellerby Wilson in 1846. Wilson gave the collection to the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. Massena described a number of new parrots with his nephew Charles de Souancé, including the Green-cheeked Parakeet. The Slaty-tailed Trogon and Magnificent Hummingbird were named in his honor.

In 1823 he married Anna Massena, Duchess of Rivoli and they had four children. Anna's Hummingbird was named in her honor by René Primevère Lesson.