Histoire Naturelle. Vol. I

1769

De Beer Fb 1769 B

Paris: De l’Imprimerie Royale

Georges-Louis Leclerc, the Comte de Buffon (1707-1788), was a French mathematician, naturalist, and cosmologist. His influence on revolutionary scientific thought at the time of the French Enlightenment was invaluable. His Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière was a 36-volume treatise on the intricacies of countless branches of scientific endeavour. The work presented ground-breaking ideas on evolution and climate change, and frequently placed Buffon at odds with theological societies. In this particular volume, Buffon outlines his theory on the origin of the Earth, concluding it to be 70,000 years older than the date officially sanctioned by the Church.