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Table of Contents
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon was a mathematician, naturalist, and author of extensive works on natural history. His works influenced the next two generations of naturalists, including two prominent French scientists Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Georges Cuvier.
Key Facts & Information
Early Life and Career
- Georges Buffon was the eldest child of Anne-Cristine Marlin and Benjamin-François Leclerc, a state official. He was born on September 7, 1707.
- Born into a wealthy family, he was educated there until 1723 at the Jesuit College of Godrans in Dijon. He went on to study law but found himself more interested in mathematics and related sciences. In 1728, he went to Angers to study.
- After his mother’s death, however, Georges returned to France and worked for the Royal Academy of Sciences in Paris on 9 January 1734.
- In the earlier years of his career, he published a translation of Stephen Hales’ Vegetable Staticks, Newton’s Method of Fluxions and infinite series, and his Mémoire sur le jeu de franc-carreau.
- Over the years of experience working with his interests, he became known as one of the great naturalists.
Buffon’s Theories
- In 1749, Georges published more natural history books: Discours sur la manière d’étudier et de traiter l’histoire naturelle, Théorie de la terre and Histoire des animaux.
- However, his most famous work comes with Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière, (Natural History, General and Particular) with him aiming to publish 50 volumes, but only 36 had appeared by the time of his death. He attempted to present all his knowledge of natural history, geology, and anthropology.
- Unlike Isaac Newton’s physics, he rejected the notion that the planets and their motions were a direct consequence of God’s intervention.
- Instead, he proposed that the debris flung out from a comet’s collision with the sun became the planets. Further, Georges estimated that the process of planet-forming and their eventual cooling took about 70,000 years.
- He published “Les Epoques de la Nature” in 1788, which became controversial because he contradicted the church’s claims that the world has been in existence for 6,000 years.
- As to the living things on earth, he believed that life came about on earth with the appearance of organic matter which was the result of heat on aqueous, oily substances.
“In order to judge what has happened, or even what will happen, one need only examine what is happening. … Events which occur every day, movements which succeed each other and repeat themselves without interruption, constant and constantly reiterated operations, these are our causes and our reasons.” –- Georges-Louis Leclerc
- In time, as the world’s climate cooled, many animals migrated to other areas where lives thrived based on their most suitable conditions.
- He also considered the similarities between humans and apes but rejected the possibility of common descent.
- In his work in physical anthropology that appeared in The Varieties of the Human Species (1749), he explained that the physical and cultural differences between groups of humans are attributed to different environmental conditions.
- Georges also promoted the idea of the mutation of all species. He suggested the possibility that all animals might have descended from a single breeding pair.
- This was rooted in his observation during his travels that even though various places had similar environments, they all had similar, but unique, wildlife that lived in them.
- However, he rejected the concept of evolution. Instead, suggesting the devolutionary theory where animals over time fell off by degrees from their original perfect state.
Legacy
“The discoveries that one can make with the microscope amount to very little, for one sees with the mind’s eye and without the microscope the real existence of all these little beings.” – Georges-Louis Leclerc
- Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon was the first to reconstruct geologic history in a series of stages in his Époques de la nature.
- With his notion of ‘lost species’, he opened the way to the development of paleontology.
- Despite his rejection of evolution, he was called the “Father of Evolutionism.”
- He influenced Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace’s theories of ‘Natural Selection’ – the process where better-adapted organisms in a certain environment tend to survive and produce more offspring.
- He is also credited with the development of the study of biogeography – the study of the geographic distribution of plants, animals, and all other forms of life.
- Despite his popularity to many naturalists and early scientists, the religious community was deeply offended and found his theories audacious, forcing him to retract his statements about the Earth’s age and the origins of the Solar System.
- He died on April 16, 1788, at the age of 80, outliving his younger wife, Francoise de Saint-Belin-Malain, and son, Georges Louis Marie Dumont de Courset, who died during the French Revolution.
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon Worksheets
This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon Worksheets across 22 in-depth pages. These are ready to use worksheets that are perfect for teaching about Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon – a mathematician, naturalist, and author of extensive works on natural history. His works influenced the next two generations of naturalists, including two prominent French scientists Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Georges Cuvier.
Complete List Of Included Worksheets
Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.
- Georges-Louis Leclerc Facts
- General Knowledge
- Origins of the Universe
- A Career Man
- World According to Georges
- Illustrating the Creation
- Writing about Nature
- Georges’ Followers
- Message in a Bottle
- Naturalist Trivia
- Outside Science
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon and why was he significant?
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon was a renowned mathematician, naturalist, and author who made extensive contributions to natural history. His work paved the way for future naturalists, including the well-known Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Georges Cuvier.
What are some of Buffon’s most famous theories and publications?
Some of Buffon’s seminal works include “Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière” and “Les Epoques de la Nature.” In his theories, he proposed ideas like the formation of planets from the debris of a comet colliding with the sun and believed life on Earth originated from organic matter formed due to heat acting on aqueous, oily substances.
Did Buffon believe in the concept of evolution?
While Buffon introduced ideas that hinted at evolution, such as the possibility of all animals descending from a single breeding pair, he did not support the concept of evolution as we understand it today. Instead, he proposed a devolutionary theory, suggesting that over time, animals degenerate from their original perfect state.
How did Buffon influence later scientists?
Buffon had a lasting impact on the field of natural history. Notably, his work influenced Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, who developed the theory of ‘Natural Selection’. He is also credited with advancing the study of biogeography, examining the geographic distribution of life forms.
Why was Buffon’s work considered controversial by some during his time?
Some of Buffon’s theories, particularly those regarding the age of the Earth and the origins of the Solar System, clashed with the beliefs held by the religious community of his time. Due to this, he faced criticism and was even compelled to retract some of his statements that were at odds with religious teachings.
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