Louis Jean-Marie Daubenton (; 29 May 1716 – 1 January 1800) was a French

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

and contributor to the ''

Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers , better known as ''Encyclopédie'' (), was a general encyclopedia published in France between 1751 and 1772, with later supplements, revised editions, and translations. It had many writers, known as the Encyclopédistes. It was edited by Denis ...

''.

Biography

Daubenton was born at

Montbard, Côte-d'Or Montbard () is a Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eastern France. Montbard is a small industr ...

. His father, Jean Daubenton, a

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is distin ...

, intended him for the church, and sent him to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to study

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

, but Louis-Jean-Marie was more interested in

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

. Jean's death in 1736 set his son free to choose his own career, and in 1741 he graduated in medicine at

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

and returned to his hometown, planning to practice as a

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

. At about this time,

Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (; 7 September 1707 – 16 April 1788) was a French Natural history, naturalist, mathematician, and cosmology, cosmologist. He held the position of ''intendant'' (director) at the ''Jardin du Roi'', now ca ...

, also a native of Montbard, was preparing to bring out a multi-volume work on

natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

, the '' Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière'', and in 1742 he invited Daubenton to assist him by providing anatomical descriptions. In many respects, the two men were complete opposites, but they worked well in partnership. In 1744, Daubenton became a member of the

French Academy of Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (, ) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...

as an adjunct botanist, and Buffon appointed him keeper and demonstrator of the king's cabinet in the

Jardin du Roi The Jardin des Plantes (, ), also known as the Jardin des Plantes de Paris () when distinguished from other ''jardins des plantes'' in other cities, is the main botanical garden in France. Jardin des Plantes is the official name in the present da ...

. In the first section of the ''Histoire naturelle'', Daubenton gave descriptions and details of the dissection of 182 species of

quadruped Quadrupedalism is a form of locomotion in which animals have four legs that are used to bear weight and move around. An animal or machine that usually maintains a four-legged posture and moves using all four legs is said to be a quadruped (fr ...

s, thus securing himself a high reputation as a comparative anatomist. Concerned about the readability and profitability of the ''Histoire naturelle'', Buffon dropped Daubenton's anatomical descriptions from later editions as well as from the series on birds, but Daubenton continued to work closely with Buffon at the

. Daubenton published many articles in the memoirs of the Parisian

Académie Royale des Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (, ) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. It was at the forefront of scientific d ...

, presenting his research on animals, the

comparative anatomy Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the anatomy of different species. It is closely related to evolutionary biology and phylogeny (the evolution of species). The science began in the classical era, continuing in t ...

of extant and

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Biology, biological Kingdom (biology), kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, ...

vegetable Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including edible flower, flo ...

physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...

mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical mineralogy, optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifact (archaeology), artifacts. Specific s ...

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, and the merino sheep that he successfully introduced into France. He was elected as a member to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in 1775. From 1775 onwards, Daubenton lectured on natural history in the College of Medicine, and in 1783 on rural economy at the Alfort school. He was also professor of mineralogy at the

. As a lecturer he was in high repute, and to the last retained his popularity. In December 1799 he was appointed a member of the

senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, but at the first meeting which he attended he fell from his seat in an apoplectic fit and, after a short illness, died at Paris. Daubenton's name is commemorated in several species names, most notably the lemur the

aye-aye The aye-aye (''Daubentonia madagascariensis'') is a long-fingered lemur, a Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhine primate native to Madagascar with rodent-like teeth that perpetually grow and a special thin middle finger that they can use to catch grubs ...

(''Daubentonia madagascariensis''), Daubenton's bat (''Myotis daubentoni'') and a kale known as .https://backyardlarder.co.uk/plants/daubenton-kale/

Relatives

He is not to be confused with his cousin Edmé-Louis Daubenton, who was also a naturalist.

Notes

References

* * ;Attribution *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Daubenton, Louis Jean-Marie 1716 births 1799 deaths People from Montbard 18th-century French physicians French zoologists French mineralogists Contributors to the Encyclopédie (1751–1772) Members of the French Academy of Sciences Members of the Sénat conservateur Academic staff of the Collège de France Fellows of the Royal Society French male non-fiction writers 18th-century French male writers Members of the American Philosophical Society

Biography

Relatives

See also

Notes

References

External links