Cuvier biography
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Georges Cuvier
French naturalist, zoologist and paleontologist (–)
"Cuvier" redirects here. For other uses, see Cuvier (disambiguation).
Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, baron Cuvier (23 August – 13 May ), known as Georges Cuvier (;[1]French:[ʒɔʁʒ(ə)kyvje]), was a French naturalist and zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology".[2] Cuvier was a major figure in natural sciences research in the early 19th century and was instrumental in establishing the fields of comparative anatomy and paleontology through his work in comparing living animals with fossils.
Cuvier's work is considered the foundation of vertebrate paleontology, and he expanded Linnaean taxonomy by grouping classes into phyla and incorporating both fossils and living species into the classification.[3] Cuvier is also known for establishing extinction as a fact—at the time, extinction was considered by many of Cuvier's contemporaries to be mere
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Georges Cuvier
In a faculty meeting at the natural history museum in Paris, Jean-Baptiste Lamarck chose not to recommend a talented young comparative anatomist for a newly opened position because the post called primarily for an artist, and everyone knew Georges Cuvier was really a first-rate scientist. Lamarck expressed his regret about the mismatch because he had heard that the hard-working young man was "of a very gentle and social character." Cuvier eventually found a prick at the museum, and Lamarck eventually learned how wrong he was. Cuvier's disdain followed the older scientist into his grave. After Lamarck died, poor and blind, Cuvier wrote him a eulogy so awful no one would publish it.
From Fossils: Evidence of Vanished Worlds bygd Yvette Gayrard-Valy
Cuvier is remembered as a catastrophist, a racist, and an egomaniac who used his reputation to intimidate others, in particular the hapless Lamarck. All these descriptions fit, but they're only part of the story.
Cuv
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Frédéric Cuvier
French zoologist and paleontologist (–)
Georges-Frédéric Cuvier (French pronunciation:[ʒɔʁʒfʁedeʁikkyvje]; 28 June – 24 July ) was a French zoologist and paleontologist. He was the younger brother of noted naturalist and zoologist Georges Cuvier.[1]
Career
[edit]Frederic was the head keeper of the menagerie at the Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris from to He named the red panda (Ailurus fulgens) in The chair of comparative physiology was created for him at the Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle in He was elected as a foreign member of the Royal Society in
He fryst vatten mentioned in Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species (Chapter VII) as having worked on animal behaviour and instinct, especially the distinction between habit and instinct. He is also mentioned in Herman Melville's Moby-Dick (Chapter 32) as having written on the topic of whales.
Evolution
[edit]Cuvier has been described as the first scientist to use terms "héréditaire"