Louis Jean-Marie Daubenton (29 May 1716 – 1 January 1800) was a French
naturalist and contributor to the ''
''.
Biography
![Daubenton](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Daubenton.JPG)
Daubenton was born at
Montbard, Côte-d'Or
Montbard () is a commune and subprefecture of the Côte-d'Or department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France.
Montbard is a small industrial town on the river Brenne. The ''Forges de Buffon'', ironworks established by Buff ...
. 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 disti ...
, intended him for the church, and sent him to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
to study
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
, but Louis-Jean-Marie was more interested in
medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...
. 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 department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne.
Founded by ...
and returned to his hometown, planning to practice as a
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
. At about this time,
Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (; 7 September 1707 – 16 April 1788) was a French naturalist, mathematician, cosmologist, and encyclopédiste.
His works influenced the next two generations of naturalists, including two prominent Fr ...
, also a native of Montbard, was preparing to bring out a multi-volume work on
natural history, 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 (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV of France, Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific me ...
as an adjunct botanist, and Buffon appointed him keeper and demonstrator of the king's cabinet in the
Jardin du Roi.
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 where four limbs are used to bear weight and move around. An animal or machine that usually maintains a four-legged posture and moves using all four limbs is said to be a quadruped (from Latin ''quattuor' ...
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
Jardin du Roi.
Daubenton published many articles in the memoirs of the Parisian
Académie Royale des Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des 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 ...
, 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 preserved ...
animal
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...
s,
vegetable
Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...
physiology
Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...
,
mineralogy
Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proces ...
,
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
, and the
merino sheep
The Merino is a breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the breed ...
that he successfully introduced into France. He was elected as a member to the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
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
Jardin du Roi. 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 bizarre lemur the
aye-aye
The aye-aye (''Daubentonia madagascariensis'') is a long-fingered lemur, a strepsirrhine primate native to Madagascar with rodent-like teeth that perpetually grow and a special thin middle finger.
It is the world's largest nocturnal primate. ...
(''Daubentonia madagascariensis''). We also have
Daubenton's bat
Daubenton's bat or Daubenton's myotis (''Myotis daubentonii'') is a Eurasian bat with rather short ears. It ranges from Ireland to Japan (Hokkaido) and is considered to be increasing its numbers in many areas.
This bat was first described in 181 ...
(''Myotis daubentoni'') in Europe, and a kale known as Daubentons Kal
Relatives
He is not to be confused with his cousin
Edmé-Louis Daubenton
Edme-Louis Daubenton (12 August 1730 – 12 December 1785) was a French naturalist.
Daubenton was the cousin of another French naturalist, Louis Jean-Marie Daubenton. Georges-Louis Leclerc, the Comte de Buffon engaged Edme-Louis Daubenton to s ...
, who was also a naturalist.
See also
*
Society of the Friends of Truth
The Society of the Friends of Truth (Amis de la Verité), also known as the Social Club (French:
''Cercle social''), was a French revolutionary organization founded in 1790. It was "a mixture of revolutionary political club, the Masonic Lodge, ...
Notes
References
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*
;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
Collège de France faculty
Fellows of the Royal Society
French male non-fiction writers
18th-century French male writers
Members of the American Philosophical Society