Background
His father, François-Auguste Vinson (1791-1851), was a noted physician and politician.
His father, François-Auguste Vinson (1791-1851), was a noted physician and politician.
He was educated in Saint-Denis, Nantes and Paris, where he studied medicine under Alfred Velpeau.
After finishing his studies in France, he returned to Saint-Denis. In 1862 Vinson was sent to Madagascar by Napoleon III to attend the coronation of Radama World War II While here, he conducted valuable investigations of the islands" flora and fauna. As a naturalist, he is known for his research of Araneidae (orb-weaver spiders) native to Madagascar, Réunion and Mauritius.
Vinson is also credited for being the first scientist to successively cultivate cinchona on Réunion.
Vinson was a corresponding member of the Académie des Sciences.