RUFFIN, Armand Gustave (rew-fang), French explorer, born in Landerneau in 1731; died in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1789. He entered the colonial administration in early life, and held offices in St. Lucia, Martinique, and Santo Domingo. In 1777 he was king's deputy-lieutenant at Cayenne, and in 1782 was in charge of the administration of Dutch Guiana, which had been retaken from the English. After the conclusion of peace he set out on a voyage of exploration through the basins of Amazon and Orinoco rivers, and (luring a sojourn of thirty-two months made a valuable collection of specimens in natural history. Toward the beginning of 1789 he was sent to explore the upper basin of Mississippi river, but he died in New Orleans of yellow fever a few days after his arrival in that place. His works include "Tableau statistique et economique des Guianes " (Paris, 1783) ; " Voyage a travers les deserts de l'Amazonie" (1787); "Quinze mois sur les bords de l'Orenoque" (1787) ; "Choix de plantes et d'insectes peu connus des Guianes et du Brasil" (1788)" and "Observations sur les cannelier de la Guiane" (1788).