Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon. Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (French pronunciation: [ʒɔʁʒ lwi ləklɛʁ kɔ̃t də byfɔ̃]; 7 September 1707 – 16 April 1788) was a French naturalist, mathematician, cosmologist, and encyclopedic author.
His works influenced the next two generations of naturalists, including Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Georges Cuvier. Buffon published thirty-six quarto volumes of his Histoire naturelle during his lifetime; with additional volumes based on his notes and further research being published in the two decades following his death.[1] It has been said that "Truly, Buffon was the father of all thought in natural history in the second half of the 18th century".[2] Buffon held the position of intendant (director) at the Jardin du Roi, now called the Jardin des Plantes; it is the French equivalent of Kew Gardens. Early life[edit]