Ten fun facts about Comte de Buffon
Fact 1
Georges-Louis Leclerc, called Comte de Buffon was born on 7 September 1707 and died on 16 April 1788.
Fact 2
His works were an influence on the next two generations of naturalists, like Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Georges Cuvier.
Fact 3
Buffon published 36 quarto volumes of his Histoire naturelle throughout his life, with additional volumes created on the basis of his notes and additional research being published in the 20 years after his death.
Fact 4
It has been said that "Truly, Buffon was the father of all thought in natural history in the second half of the 18th century".
Fact 5
Buffon had the position of director at the Jardin du Roi, now known as the Jardin des Plantes.
Fact 6
He first made an impression in the field of mathematics in his Sur le jeu de franc-carreau, and he introduced differential and essential calculus into the probability theory.
Fact 7
The problem of Buffon's needle in the probability theory is named after him.
Fact 8
While his examination of the animal world, he observed that despite similar environments, distinctive regions have distinct plants and animals, a notion later known as Buffon's Law. This is deliberated to be the first belief of biogeography.
Fact 9
Buffon and Johann Blumenbach were supporters of monogenism, the theory that all races have a sole origin. They also believed in the "Degeneration theory" of racial origins.
Fact 10
He put forth the idea of evolution in science and developed a notion of the "unity of type", an originator of comparative anatomy.
More interesting reads about...
Jean Baptiste Lamarck
Was a naturalist from France and a propagator of the theory that evolution transpires in tandem with the natural laws.
Leonard Euler
Was a pioneering Swiss mathematician and physicist.
Erwin Schrodinger
Was an Austrian physicist famous for his contribution in the field of quantum theory.
Albert Einstein
Was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the general theory of relativity.
Daniel Bernoulli
was a Swiss mathematician and physicist and was one of the many prominent mathematicians in the Bernoulli family
Theodor Schwann
A German physiologist.
Lynn Margulis
was an American biologist and University Professor in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Christiaan Huygens
Was a prominent Dutch mathematician and philosopher.
Jean Piaget
was a Swiss developmental psychologist and philosopher known for his epistemological studies with children
MORE IN PEOPLE/CELEBRITIES
