Everything about Georges-louis Leclerc Comte De Buffon totally explained
Georges-Louis Leclerc, (
September 7,
1707 –
April 16,
1788) was a French
naturalist, mathematician, biologist,
cosmologist and author. Buffon's views influenced the next two generations of naturalists, including
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and
Charles Darwin. Darwin himself, in his foreword to the 6th edition of the
Origin of Species, credited
Aristotle with foreshadowing the concept of
natural selection but also stated that "the first author who in modern times has treated it in a scientific spirit was Buffon".
Early life
He was born at
Montbard,
Côte-d'Or. His father, Benjamin Leclerc, was the Lord of
Dijon and Montbard. He attended
Jesuit College from the age of ten, and then
University of Angers. He began studying law, but soon began to concentrate on his twin interests of mathematics and science. He was later forced to leave university after becoming involved in a duel, and set off on a grand tour of Europe, returning when his father's remarriage threatened his inheritance.
He first made his mark in the field of mathematics and in introduced differential and integral
calculus into
probability theory. During this period he corresponded with the Swiss mathematician,
Gabriel Cramer. The problem of
Buffon's needle in
probability theory is also named in his honor.
His translations of works by
Isaac Newton and
Stephen Hales'
Vegetable staticks into French heightened his interest in biology.
He moved to Paris where he made the acquaintance of
Voltaire and other intellectuals. He joined the
French Academy of Sciences at the age of 27. He became Keeper of the Jardin du Roi (later
Jardin des Plantes) in Paris from 1739. During his period in charge he converted it from the King's garden to a research centre and museum, and the park was considerably enlarged, with the addition of many trees and plants from around the world.
Natural history
Buffon is best remembered for his great work (1749–1778: in 36 volumes, 8 additional volumes published after his death by
Lacépède). It included everything known about the natural world up until that date. He noted that despite similar environments, different regions have distinct plants and animals, a concept later known as Buffon's Law, widely considered the first principle of Biogeography. He made the radical conclusion that species must have both "improved" and "degenerated" (evolved) after dispersing away from a center of creation. He also asserted that climate change must have facilitated the worldwide spread of species from their center of origin.
Buffon considered the similarities between humans and apes, and the possibility of a common ancestry. Buffon debated
James Burnett, Lord Monboddo on the question of ancestry of the primates to man, Monboddo insisting on the closeness of relationship of man and apes. Those who assisted him in the production of this great work included
Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton. Buffon's work is considered to have greatly influenced modern ecology (see
history of ecology). His was translated into many different languages, making him the most widely read scientific author of the day, equaling
Rousseau and
Voltaire.
In (1778) Buffon discussed the origins of the
solar system, speculating that the planets had been created by
comets colliding with the sun (see
Passing star hypothesis). He also suggested that the earth originated much earlier than the 4004 BC date proclaimed by Archbishop
James Ussher. Based on the cooling rate of
iron, he calculated that the age of the earth was 75,000 years. For this he was condemned by the
Catholic Church in France and his books were burned. Buffon also denied that
Noah's flood ever occurred and observed that some animals retain parts that are
vestigial and no longer useful, suggesting that they've evolved rather than having been spontaneously generated. Despite this, Buffon insisted that he wasn't an
atheist.
Besides his many brilliant insights he's also known for expounding the theory that nature in the
New World was inferior to that of
Eurasia. He argued that the Americas were lacking in large and powerful creatures, and that even the people were far less virile than their European counterparts. He ascribed this to the marsh odours and dense forests of the continent.
Buffon was very skilled with words, earning him the nickname from mathematician
Jean le Rond d' Alembert of "the great phrasemonger." Speaking of his many detractors, he said, "I shall keep absolute silence . . . and let their attacks fall upon themselves." He said that the horse was "man's most noble conquest." When delivering his ("Discourse on Style"), he said, "Writing well consists of thinking, feeling and expressing well, of clarity of mind, soul and taste . . . The style is the man himself" ("").
He lent his affinity of words to the world of science and, among others, is credited with coining the term
prehensile (from
Latin ). Leclerc was made Comte (Count) de Buffon in 1773. He died in Paris 1788.
Wood tests
Buffon performed one of the most comprehensive series of tests that had been undertaken at his time on the mechanical properties of
wood. Included were a series of tests to compare the properties of small clear specimens with those of large members. After carefully testing more than 1,000 small specimens and being extremely careful to ensure that the specimens contained no knots or other defects, Buffon concluded that it wasn't possible to predict the properties of full-size timbers containing defects from tests of small specimens, and he began a series of tests on full-size structural members. His conclusion that tests of small specimens (without further adjustment) can't be used to predict the properties of full-size members raised a question that was to continue into the 20th century.
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