Dare to embark on a journey of natural history? Here on Allée Georges-Louis Buffon, we’ll explore the legacy of a remarkable man. He shaped our understanding of the natural world.
The Allée Georges-Louis Buffon is named for Georges-Louis Leclerc. He was the Comte de Buffon. Buffon lived from 1707 to 1788. He was a French naturalist. He is remembered for his work Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière. Buffon was made a count in 1773.
Buffon’s father was a state official in Burgundy. His mother was a woman of spirit and learning. He said he got his intelligence from her. The name Buffon came from an estate. He inherited it from his mother around age 25.
He began his studies at the College of Godrans in Dijon. It was run by Jesuits. He seemed to be an average student. But he had a taste for mathematics. His father wanted him to have a legal career. In 1723, he began studying law. In 1728, he went to Angers. There he studied medicine and botany. He also studied mathematics.
He had to leave Angers after a duel. He took refuge at Nantes. There, he lived with a young Englishman. The Duke of Kingston. The two young men traveled to Italy. They arrived in Rome in 1732. They also visited England. While there, Buffon was elected to the Royal Society.
His mother’s death called him back to France. He settled on the family estate at Montbard. He did his first research there. It was in calculus of probability and physical sciences. Buffon was interested in plant physiology. In 1735, he published a translation. It was of Stephen Hales’s Vegetable Staticks. In the preface, he developed his scientific method. He kept his interest in mathematics. He published a translation of Isaac Newton’s Fluxions in 1740. In the preface, he discussed Newton and Leibniz. They had differences over the infinitesimal calculus. He researched the properties of timbers. He also studied their improvement in his forests in Burgundy.
In 1739, at 32, he was appointed keeper. He oversaw the Jardin du Roi. It was the royal botanical garden. It is now the Jardin des Plantes. He also oversaw the museum. J.-F.-P. de Maurepas helped him get the job. He was the minister of marine. He knew the importance of science. He wanted to use Buffon’s knowledge of timber. This was for the French government’s shipbuilding projects. Maurepas also charged Buffon to catalog the royal collections. These collections were in natural history. Buffon transformed this into producing an account of all nature. This became his great work. Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière. It was the first modern attempt to present all knowledge. It covered natural history, geology, and anthropology. It was in a single publication.
Buffon’s Histoire naturelle was translated into languages. It was widely read in Europe. The first edition is prized by collectors. They value its beautiful illustrations. Buffon labored on it. He spent eight months a year at Montbard. He worked up to 12 hours a day. He published 36 of 50 volumes before his death. Louis J.M. Daubenton and others assisted him on the first 15 volumes. The next seven volumes were a supplement. The most famous section was Époques de la nature. These were succeeded by volumes on birds. Then came volumes on minerals. The remaining volumes were done by the count de Lacépède. They covered reptiles, fishes, and cetaceans. Buffon interspersed philosophic discussions. These were on nature, degeneration of animals, and birds.
He was elected to the French Academy. He delivered his Discours sur le style. It contained the line, “Le style c’est l’homme même.” It means, “The style is the man himself.” He was also treasurer to the Academy of Sciences. During trips to Paris, he frequented literary and philosophical salons. He was a friend of Denis Diderot and Jean Le Rond d’Alembert. But he did not collaborate on their Encyclopédie. He enjoyed his life at Montbard. He lived in contact with nature and the peasants. He managed his properties. He built a menagerie and a large aviary. He transformed an outbuilding into a laboratory.
Buffon’s work wasn’t perfect. He faced criticism from theologians and scientists. However, his work opened areas of knowledge. His Histoire naturelle presented facts in an intelligible form. Today, the Allée Georges-Louis Buffon stands as a tribute. It honors a man who dared to explore the natural world. His work inspires us to look closer at the world around us.