Quick Facts
Biography
Marie-Aimée Lullin (5 April 1751 – 25 January 1822) was the transcriber and observer for her husband, a highly regarded entomologist who became blind at an early age.
She was the daughter of Pierre Lullin (1712-1789), the Syndic of Geneva, and Sarah Rilliet (1723-1751).
She married François Huber (1750-1831), the famous blind entomologist, on 28 April 1776 in Geneva, Switzerland after having to wait seven years to do so. Lullin had become friends with Huber when she was 17 when they were dance partners, but Marie's father would not allow her to marry, at so young an age, a man with failing eyesight. Instead of abandoning Huber, she decided to wait until she had attained the age of 25, when she was legally allowed choose a husband despite the disapproval of her father. They had three children together:
- Pierre Huber (1777-1840)
- Marie Anne Huber (1779-1871) who married Samuel de Molin
- Jean Huber (1785-1839)
Marie became her husband's "reader, secretary and observer." Together with their son Pierre and a servant, François Burnens, she helped Huber carry out his experiments that laid the foundations of scientific knowledge with regard to the life and biology of the honey bee.
In 1991, a Venus crater was named after Marie Lullin. It is located 23.1 N and 81.0 E, and it measures 24 kilometres (15 mi).