George-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon was a wealthy
French aristocrat, educated in law and medicine, but found his true
passions were nature and philosophy. Buffon understood the value of
knowledge, empirical study and critical thinking; his self-imposed
mission was to further man’s understanding of nature and introduce the
incredible variety and wonders of the natural word to the people of
France. Toward this end, in 1749 he began publishing the extensive
cabinet of natural history of Louis XV under the title, “Historie
Naturelle
générale et
particulière avec la decription du cabinet du Roi.”
The enormous project
would result in 44 volumes and continue publishing after Buffon’s
death. “Historie
Naturelle”
was
eventually published in many editions, translated into
a number of languages and became an international success.
Buffon’s use of his social status, privilege and education to seek the
truth and further current understanding of all aspects of life – on
this planet and beyond – was unique. In 1788, Buffon published, “Les
Epoques de la Nature”
theorizing the age
of the Earth to be much older than the Church ordained 6000 years.
He openly questioned the accepted theories of his day
and hit upon early notions of man’s evolution through the similarities
of ape and human ancestry 100 years before the published work of
Charles Darwin. In “Evolution of the Species,” forward to the
sixth edition, Darwin notes,
"the
first author who in modern times has treated it [Natural Selection] in
a scientific spirit was Buffon." |