Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (7 September 1707 – 16 April 1788) was a French naturalist, mathematician, biologist,
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (7 September 1707 – 16 April 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". The Lycée Buffon in Paris is named after him. He was born at Montbard, . 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 Sur le jeu de franc-carreau 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.
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