Jean-Marie Despréaux participated in several Napoleonic campaigns. After practicing for a few years as a doctor, he got involved in politics, belonged to the editorial staff of the "National" and was a member of the scientific mission in Morea in 1829, within the Section of Physical Sciences led by the naturalist Jean-Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent. In addition to his participation in the scientific exploration of Greece, he participated later to that in the Canary Islands.