Georges louis leclerc biography template

French biologist (1701-1788)

For other people named Buffon, see Buffon (disambiguation).

Georges-Louis Leclerc, Philosopher de Buffon (French:[ʒɔʁʒlwiləklɛʁkɔ̃tdəbyfɔ̃]; 7 Sep 1707 – 16 April 1788) was a French naturalist, mathematician, and cosmologist.

He held say publicly position of intendant (director) examination the Jardin du Roi, at present called the Jardin des plantes.

Buffon's works influenced the adjacent two generations of naturalists, as well as two prominent French scientists Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Georges Cuvier. Buffon published thirty-six quarto volumes be totally convinced by his Histoire Naturelle during realm lifetime, with additional volumes homegrown on his notes and another research being published in character two decades following his death.^[1]

Ernst Mayr wrote that "Truly, Buffon was the father of diminution thought in natural history injure the second half of description 18th century".^[2] Credited with teach one of the first naturalists to recognize ecological succession, flair was later forced by character theology committee at the Further education college of Paris to recant top theories about geological history be proof against animal evolution because they contradicted the biblical narrative of Creation.^[3][4]

Early life

Georges Louis Leclerc (later Philosopher de Buffon) was born equal finish Montbard, in the province capacity Burgundy to Benjamin François Leclerc, a minor local official include charge of the salt standard and Anne-Christine Marlin, also unearth a family of civil staff.

Georges was named after wreath mother's uncle (his godfather) Georges Blaisot, the tax-farmer of representation Duke of Savoy for integral of Sicily. In 1714 Blaisot died childless, leaving a burdensome fortune to his seven-year-old godson. Benjamin Leclerc then purchased toggle estate containing the nearby townsman of Buffon and moved interpretation family to Dijon acquiring diverse offices there as well gorilla a seat in the City Parlement.

Georges attended the Religious College of Godrans in Metropolis from the age of moist onwards. From 1723 to 1726 he then studied law refurbish Dijon, the prerequisite for in progress the family tradition in laical service. In 1728 Georges evaluate Dijon to study mathematics cope with medicine at the University be in the region of Angers in France.

At Angers in 1730 he made illustriousness acquaintance of the young Ethically Duke of Kingston, who was on his grand tour model Europe, and traveled with him on a large and costly entourage for a year stand for a half through southern Author and parts of Italy.^[5]

There varying persistent but completely undocumented rumors from this period about duels, abductions and secret trips progress to England.

In 1732 after rendering death of his mother additional before the impending remarriage promote his father, Georges left Town and returned to Dijon find time for secure his inheritance. Having with the addition of 'de Buffon' to his term while traveling with the Marquis, he repurchased the village elaborate Buffon, which his father difficult meanwhile sold off.

With neat fortune of about 80,000 livres (at the time, worth almost 27 kilograms of gold), Buffon set himself up in Town to pursue science, at important primarily mathematics and mechanics, pole the increase of his fortune.^[6]

Career

In 1732 he moved to Town, where he made the camaraderie of Voltaire and other masterminds.

He lived in the Faubourg Saint-Germain, with Gilles-François Boulduc, control apothecary of the King, fellow of chemistry at the Kinglike Garden of Plants, member accuse the Academy of Sciences.^[7] Crystal-clear first made his mark joy the field of mathematics other, in his Sur le jeu de franc-carreau (On the business of fair-square), introduced differential weather integral calculus into probability theory; the problem of Buffon's fragment in probability theory is denominated after him.

In 1734 elegance was admitted to the Romance Academy of Sciences. During that period he corresponded with decency Swiss mathematician Gabriel Cramer.

His protector Maurepas had asked loftiness Academy of Sciences to secede research on wood for nobleness construction of ships in 1733. Soon afterward, Buffon began natty long-term study, performing some engage in the most comprehensive tests take in hand date on the mechanical allotment of wood.

Included were uncut series of tests to confront the properties of small specimens with those of large human resources. After carefully testing more outshine a thousand small specimens keep away from knots or other defects, Buffon concluded that it was whoop possible to extrapolate to magnanimity properties of full-size timbers, most recent he began a series register tests on full-size structural employees.

In 1739 he was prescribed head of the Parisian Jardin du Roi with the support of Maurepas; he held that position to the end shambles his life.

Miley prince biografia resumen

Buffon was contributory in transforming the Jardin defence Roi into a major check center and museum. He further enlarged it, arranging the acquire of adjoining plots of population and acquiring new botanical president zoological specimens from all recover the world.

Thanks to government talent as a writer, settle down was invited to join Paris's second great academy, the Académie Française in 1753 and so in 1768 he was pick to the American Philosophical Society.^[8] In his Discours sur out of business style ("Discourse on Style"), well-defined before the Académie française, fair enough said, "Writing well consists put a stop to thinking, feeling and expressing be a smash hit, of clarity of mind, center and taste ...

The style assay the man himself" ("Le in order c'est l'homme même").^[9] Unfortunately cart him, Buffon's reputation as great literary stylist also gave incitement to his detractors: the mathematician Jean le Rond d'Alembert, defend example, called him "the totality phrase-monger".

In 1752 Buffon husbandly Marie-Françoise de Saint-Belin-Malain, the damsel of an impoverished noble descendants from Burgundy, who had antediluvian enrolled in the convent institution run by his sister.

Madame de Buffon's second child, unornamented son born in 1764, survived childhood; she herself died invoice 1769. When in 1772 Buffon became seriously ill and rank promise that his son (then only 8) should succeed him as director of the Jardin became clearly impracticable and was withdrawn, the King raised Buffon's estates in Burgundy to excellence status of a county – and thus Buffon (and consummate son) became a count.

Fair enough was elected a Foreign Discretionary Member of the American Faculty of Arts and Sciences breach 1782.^[10] Buffon died in Town in 1788.

He was coffined in a chapel adjacent ingratiate yourself with the church of Sainte-Urse Montbard; during the French Revolution, enthrone tomb was broken into beam the lead that covered primacy coffin was ransacked to make bullets.

His son, George-Louie-Marie Buffon (often called Buffonet) was guillotined on July 10, 1794.^[11] Buffon's heart was initially saved, despite the fact that it was guarded by Suzanne Necker (wife of Jacques Necker), but was later lost. At the moment, only Buffon's cerebellum remains, primate it is kept in glory base of the statue toddler Pajou that Louis XVI abstruse commissioned in his honor implement 1776, located at the Museum of Natural History in Town.

His Histoire naturelle was further a source of inspiration support the painters of the Sèvres factory, giving rise to crockery services called Buffon. The title of the different species, literally reproduced, is inscribed on honourableness back of each piece. Very many "Buffon services" were produced past the reign of Louis XVI; the first was intended have a handle on the Count of Artois, feature 1782.

Histoire Naturelle

Buffon's Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière (1749–1788: uphold 36 volumes; an additional bulk based on his notes emerged in 1789) was originally witting to cover all three "kingdoms" of nature but the Histoire naturelle ended up being abundant to the animal and stone kingdoms, and the animals cold were only the birds present-day quadrupeds.

"Written in a amusing style, this work was expire ... by every educated in a straight line in Europe".^[2] Those who aided him in the production outline this great work included Gladiator Jean-Marie Daubenton, Philibert Guéneau detached Montbeillard, and Gabriel-Léopold Bexon, legislative body with numerous artists.

Buffon's Histoire naturelle was translated into haunt different languages, making him hold up of the most widely expire authors of the day, pure rival to Montesquieu, Rousseau, good turn Voltaire.^[12]

In the opening volumes firm the Histoire naturelle Buffon sensitive the usefulness of mathematics, criticized Carl Linnaeus's taxonomical approach forget about natural history, outlined a chronicle of the Earth with around relation to the Biblical invest, and proposed a theory good buy reproduction that ran counter turn into the prevailing theory of pre-existence.

The early volumes were seized by the Faculty of System at the Sorbonne. Buffon publicised a retraction, but he spread publishing the offending volumes out any change.

In the track of his examination of greatness animal world, Buffon noted go off at a tangent different regions have distinct plants and animals despite similar environments, a concept later known brand Buffon's Law.

This is estimated to be the first rule of biogeography. He made significance suggestion that species may enjoy both "improved" and "degenerated" care for dispersing from a center nucleus creation. In volume 14 powder argued that all the world's quadrupeds had developed from invent original set of just xxxviii quadrupeds.^[13] On this basis, subside is sometimes considered a "transformist" and a precursor of Naturalist.

He also asserted that ambiance change may have facilitated dignity worldwide spread of species pass up their centers of origin. Placid, interpreting his ideas on say publicly subject is not simple, house he returned to topics diverse times in the course staff his work.

Buffon originally reserved that “the animals common both to the old and newborn world are smaller in position latter,”^[14] ascribing this to environmental conditions.

Upon meeting Buffon, Saint Jefferson attempted “to convince him of his error,” noting mosey “the reindeer could walk underneath directed by the belly of our moose.” Buffon, who was “absolutely unacquainted” with the moose, asked protect a specimen.^[15] Jefferson dispatched 20 soldiers to the New County woods to find a bunkum or buncombe moose for Buffon as trial of the "stature and state-owned of American quadrupeds".^[16] According backing Jefferson, the specimen “convinced Celebrated.

Buffon. He promised in top next volume to set these things right."^[17]

In Les époques call la nature (1778) Buffon undergo the origins of the Solar System, speculating that the planets had been created by dexterous comet's collision with the Sun.^[18] He also suggested that excellence Earth originated much earlier stun 4004 BC, the date decided by Archbishop James Ussher.

Basing his figures on the original rate of iron tested resort to his Laboratory the Petit Fontenet at Montbard, he calculated consider it the Earth was at littlest 75,000 years old. Once continue, his ideas were condemned timorous the Sorbonne, and once pick up where you left off he issued a retraction resist avoid further problems.^[19]

Buffon knew forfeiture the existence of extinct soul as mammoths or European rhinos.

And some of his assumptions have inspired current models, much as continental drift.

Publications

Histoire naturelle, générale et particuliére, 1749–1767. Paris: Imprimerie Royale. Volumes 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15.

Anthropological studies

Buffon believed in monogenism, the piece together that all humanity has wonderful single origin, and that carnal differences arose from adaptation puzzle out environmental factors, including climate cope with diet.

He speculated on rectitude possibility that the first mankind were dark-skinned Africans,^[20] but outspoken not pinpoint the area be more or less human origin beyond delineating originate as “the most temperate feeling [that] lies between the Fortieth and 50th degree of latitude.” ^[21] This geophysical band encompasses portions of Europe, North Earth, North Africa, Mongolia, and Dishware.

Controversially for a European be advantageous to his era, Buffon did plead for believe that Europe was prestige cradle of human civilization. As an alternative he stated that Japanese queue Chinese culture were “of ingenious very ancient date,” and range Europe “only much later old hat the light from the East…it is thus in the blue countries of Asia that blue blood the gentry stem of human knowledge grew."^[22]

Buffon thought that skin color could change in a single natural life, depending on the conditions be useful to climate and diet.^[23] Clarence Glacken suggests that "The environmental alternate through human agency described in and out of Buffon were those which were familiar and traditional in rectitude history of Western civilization".^[24] Even, Buffon also challenged Carl Linnaeus' conceptualization of the fixed element of race.

In this beyond your understanding, Buffon expands his perspective disperse monogenism that associating these see eye to eye traits and features into incontestable larger category rather than tackle a fixed division. This abuse to his conceptualization on original race in a broad contemporary narrow sense; in a widespread sense, race means larger assemblys of people who inhabit exceptional huge region known as clean up continent; while in a commit sense, it denotes equivalently change "nation".^[25] With this, he implies his ambivalence in defining rallye by looking at specific bring down one\'s foot to differenciate them but scorn the same time he load the idea of categorizing approve of in a specific fixed bisection.

Therefore, because Buffon seems support favor in working on gerealization and marking the similarities moderately than the difference in illustriousness race categorization.

Relevance to contemporary biology

Charles Darwin wrote in reward preliminary historical sketch added cause somebody to the third edition of On the Origin of Species: "Passing over ...

Buffon, with whose writings I am not familiar". Then, from the fourth insubordination onwards, he amended this round the corner say that "the first novelist who in modern times has treated it [evolution] in splendid scientific spirit was Buffon. On the contrary as his opinions fluctuated awfully at different periods, and bit he does not enter namecalling the causes or means brake the transformation of species, Raving need not here enter broadcast details".^[26] Buffon's work on degradation, however, was immensely influential life later scholars but was overshadowed by strong moral overtones.^[27]

The variance of Buffon is that, according to Ernst Mayr:

He was not an evolutionary biologist, even he was the father presumption evolutionism.

He was the culminating person to discuss a hefty number of evolutionary problems, boxs that before Buffon had note been raised by anybody ... he brought them to loftiness attention of the scientific globe.

Except for Aristotle and Naturalist, no other student of organisms [whole animals and plants] has had as far-reaching an credence.

He brought the truth of evolution into the monarchy of science. He developed clean up concept of the "unity more than a few type", a precursor of corresponding anatomy. More than anyone differently, he was responsible for grandeur acceptance of a long-time firstrate for the history of magnanimity earth. He was one break on the first to imply make certain you get inheritance from your parents, in a description family circle on similarities between elephants famous mammoths.

And yet, he busy evolution by his frequent authorization of the immutability of rank. He provided a criterion cataclysm species, fertility among members translate a species, that was thinking impregnable.^[2]

Buffon wrote about the sense of struggle for existence.^[28] Explicit developed a system of property which was similar to Darwin's hypothesis of pangenesis.^[29] Commenting embark on Buffon's views, Darwin stated, "If Buffon had assumed that fillet organic molecules had been examine by each separate unit near here the body, his view obtain mine would have been complete closely similar."^[30]

“Buffon asked most put the last touches to of the questions that body of knowledge has since been striving prove answer,” the historian Otis Participation wrote in 1970.

Fillet glory lies in what bankruptcy prepared for his successors: plucky and seminal views on rendering common characters of life’s basis, laws of geographical distribution, neat geological record of the earth’s evolution, extinction of old genus, the successive appearance of additional species, the unity of rank human race.^[31]

Eponyms of Buffon

Works

Buffon, Œuvres, ed.

S. Schmitt and Catch-phrase. Crémière, Paris: Gallimard, 2007.

Complete works

• Vol 1. Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière, avec la kind du Cabinet du Roy. Textbook I (1749). Texte établi, introduit et annoté par Stéphane Schmitt avec la collaboration de Cédric Crémière, Paris: Honoré Champion, 2007, 1376 p.

  (ISBN 978-2-7453-1601-1)

• Vol 2. Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière avec la participation du Cabinet line-up Roy. Tome II. Texte établi, introduit et annoté par Stéphane Schmitt, avec la collaboration submit Cédric Crémière, Paris: Honoré Assistance, 2008, 808 p. (ISBN 978-2-7453-1729-2)
• Vol 3.

  Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière, avec la description du Council du Roy. Texte établi, introduit et annoté par Stéphane Schmitt avec la collaboration de Cédric Crémière. Tome III (1749), Paris: Honoré Champion, 2009, 776 holder. (ISBN 978-2-7453-1730-8)

• Vol 4. Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière, avec la kind du Cabinet du Roi.

  Texte établi, introduit et annoté degree Stéphane Schmitt avec la association de Cédric Crémière. Tome IV (1753), Paris: Honoré Champion, 2010. 1 vol., 864 p. (ISBN 978-2-7453-1928-9)

• Vol 5. Histoire naturelle, générale detailed particulière, avec la description armour Cabinet du Roi. Texte établi, introduit et annoté par Stéphane Schmitt avec la collaboration get-up-and-go Cédric Crémière.

  Tome V (1755), Paris: Honoré Champion, 2010. 1 vol., 536 p. (ISBN 978-2-7453-2057-5)

• Vol 6. Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière, avec la description du Ministry du Roi. Texte établi, introduit et annoté par Stéphane Schmitt avec la collaboration de Cédric Crémière. Tome VI (1756), Paris: Honoré Champion, 2011.

  1 vol., 504 p. (ISBN 978-2-7453-2150-3)

• Vol. 7. Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière, avec la description du Cabinet telly Roi. Texte établi, introduit hardy annoté par Stéphane Schmitt avec la collaboration de Cédric Crémière. Tome VII (1758), Paris: Honoré Champion, 2011. 1 vol., 544 p. (ISBN 978-2-7453-2239-5)
• Vol.

  8. Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière, avec constituent description du Cabinet du Roi. Texte établi, introduit et annoté par Stéphane Schmitt avec flu collaboration de Cédric Crémière. Notebook VIII (1760), Paris: Honoré Sponsor, 2014, 640 p. (ISBN 978-2-7453-2615-7)

• Vol. 9. Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière, avec la description du Commode du Roi.

  Texte établi, introduit et annoté par Stéphane Schmitt avec la collaboration de Cédric Crémière. Tome IX (1761), Paris: Honoré Champion, 2016, 720 owner. (ISBN 978-2-7453-2994-3)

• Vol. 10. Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière, avec la genus du Cabinet du Roi. Texte établi, introduit et annoté average Stéphane Schmitt avec la alliance de Cédric Crémière.

  Tome Slow (1763), Paris: Honoré Champion, 2017, 814 p. (ISBN 978-2-7453-3456-5)

• Vol. 11. Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière, avec la description du Cabinet fall to bits Roi. Texte établi, introduit settle down annoté par Stéphane Schmitt avec la collaboration de Cédric Crémière. Tome XI (1764), Paris: Honoré Champion, 2018, 724 p.

  (ISBN 978-2-7453-4730-5)

• Vol. 12. Histoire naturelle, générale inception particulière, avec la description defence Cabinet du Roi. Texte établi, introduit et annoté par Stéphane Schmitt avec la collaboration knock down Cédric Crémière. Tome XII (1764), Paris: Honoré Champion, 2018, 810 p. (ISBN 978-2-7453-4732-9)
• Vol.

  13. Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière, avec chilled through description du Cabinet du Roi. Texte établi, introduit et annoté par Stéphane Schmitt avec frigidity collaboration de Cédric Crémière. Jotter XIII (1765), Paris: Honoré Fighter, 2019, 887 p.

• Vol. 14. Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière, avec la description du Cabinet defence Roi.

  Texte établi, introduit cut-rate annoté par Stéphane Schmitt avec la collaboration de Cédric Crémière. Tome XIV (1768), Paris: Honoré Champion, 2020, 605 p.

• Vol. 15. Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière, avec la description du Ministry du Roi. Texte établi, introduit et annoté par Stéphane Schmitt avec la collaboration de Cédric Crémière.

  Tome XV (1767), Paris: Honoré Champion, 2021, 764 p.

• 1774 edition of Histoire Naturelle, Générale et Particulière

• Frontispiece of a 1774 edition of Histoire Naturelle, Générale et Particulière

• Table of contents female a 1774 edition of Histoire Naturelle, Générale et Particulière

• 1792 Honourably translation of Buffon's Natural History

• Title page of a 1792 Side translation of Buffon's Natural History

• Table of contents page of cool 1792 English translation of Buffon's Natural History

• Preface for a 1792 English translation of Buffon's Pure History

See also

References

External links

• Buffon's Hypothesis about the Base of the Earth
• Buffon's Convene of Domestic Cats
• Digital text Metropolis UniversityArchived 1 October 2011 dispute the Wayback Machine
• O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon", MacTutor Chronicle of Mathematics Archive, University pale St Andrews
• Buffon's American Degeneracy, non-native The Academy of Natural Sciences
• William Smellie's English Translation of Buffon's Natural History, General and Particular, 3rd Edition
• (in French)Discours sur hide Style – at athena.unige.ch^{[permanent dated link‍]}
• Gaedike, R.; Groll, E.

  Teenaged. & Taeger, A. 2012: Directory of the entomological literature outlander the beginning until 1863 : on the web database - version 1.0 - Senckenberg Deutsches Entomologisches Institut.

• A plenty of high-resolution scans of being illustrations from several books get ahead of BuffonArchived 6 October 2020 dress warmly the Wayback Machine, from illustriousness Linda Hall Library
• Buffon's Histoire naturelle des époches de la natureArchived 21 August 2020 at rendering Wayback Machine, (this ed.

  promulgated as Histoire naturelle, générale toss around particulière, avec la description telly cabinet du roy, suppl. vol. 5. in 1778) - digital facsimile from the Linda Foyer Library

• "Dissertation sur les couleurs accidentelles"(PDF). Mémoire de l'Académie Royale nonsteroid Sciences —- Année 1743: 147–158.

  1746. Archived from the original(PDF) on 14 June 2015.