Gabrielle Maud Vassal (1880-1959)

Namesake of: Southern yellow-cheeked crested gibbon (Nomascus gabriellae)

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- English naturalist and writer

- Traveled with her husband for the French Colonial Service to many countries where he was posted, including Vietnam, Gabon, and Congo

- Collected many animal specimens for the British Museum during her travels.

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"Gabrielle Maud Vassal and her husband Joseph Marguerite Jean-Baptiste Vassal, a physician in the French Colonial Service, supplied bird and mammal specimens from French Indochina and later from French colonies in Africa (Gabon, Congo) to the British Museum (Natural History) between 1900 and 1930. Gabrielle Vassal was a keen naturalist and an engaging correspondent, and many of her letters are preserved.... As a woman collector, she was unusual – especially for operating in French territory and sending specimens to a British museum. Her specimens included several newly-discovered species, and a number were named after her, including Nomascus gabriellae, and her husband. She became a successful photographer, public speaker and author, recounting her travels and experiences."

"Vassal authored several books, including a novel titled A Romance of the Western Front published in 1918, On & Off Duty in Annam, In and round Yunnan Fou about her time in Vietnam, Life In French Congo in 1925, and Three Years In Vietnam 1907-1910: Medicine, Chams And Tribesmen In Nhatrang And Surroundings in 1910."