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Article: Buffon, Georges Louis Leclerc (1707–1788)
- Article from:
- Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World
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BUFFON, GEORGES LOUIS LECLERC (1707
–
1788)
BUFFON, GEORGES LOUIS LECLERC
(1707
–
1788), natural historian. Born to an aristocratic family in Montbard (Burgundy), where he also received his early education, Buffon was originally directed toward a bureaucratic career common for his class. A chance meeting with a young English nobleman in 1738 led to a continental tour through France, Italy, and England. During this year-long sojourn, Buffon studied natural history and the new philosophical positions of Isaac Newton (1642
–
1727), the influential English natural philosopher and was exposed to the work of John Ray (1627
–
1705), England's most important naturalist. ...