Wladimir Besnard (1890, St. Petersburg, Russia – 1960, São Paulo, Brazil) was a French biologist [1] and Brazilian oceanographer, and is considered to be the father of Brazilian oceanography.[2]
He was born in the Russian Empire of French parents.
As a biologist he is credited (together with Theodore Monod) with the discovery of the skeleton of the Asselar man in 1927 [2][3] (although various sources refer to him as M.M. Besnard or M.V. Besnard).
An oceanographic ship, some undersea features (Besnard Bank, Besnard Passage[4]), and a street in São Paulo (Rua Professor Wladimir Besnard) are named in his honor.