Bernard-Germain-Étienne de La Ville-sur-Illon, comte de Lacépède or La Cépède (; 26 December 17566 October 1825) 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 an active

freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

. He is known for his contribution to the

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

's great work, the ''

Histoire Naturelle The ''Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière, avec la description du Cabinet du Roi'' (; ) is an encyclopaedic collection of 36 large (quarto) volumes written between 1749–1804, initially by the Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon, Comte ...

''.

Biography

Lacépède was born at

Agen Agen (, , ) is the prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne, southeast of Bordeaux. In 2021, the commune had a population of 32,485. Geography The city of Agen l ...

in Guienne. His education was carefully conducted by his father, and the early perusal of Buffon's Natural History ('' Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière'') awakened his interest in that branch of study, which absorbed his chief attention. His leisure he devoted to music, in which, besides becoming a good performer on the piano and organ, he acquired considerable mastery of composition, two of his operas (which were never published) meeting with the high approval of

Gluck Christoph Willibald ( Ritter von) Gluck (; ; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire at ...

; in 1781–1785 he also brought out in two volumes his ''Poétique de la musique''. Meantime he wrote two treatises, ''Essai sur l'électricité'' (1781) and ''Physique générale et particulière'' (1782–1784), which gained him the friendship of Buffon, who in 1785 appointed him subdemonstrator 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 ...

, and proposed that he continue Buffon's ''Histoire naturelle''. This continuation was published under the titles ''Histoire naturelle des quadrupèdes ovipares et des serpents''. ''Tome premier'' (1788) and ''Histoire naturelle des ''serpents''. Tome second'' (1789). After the French Revolution Lacépède became a member of the Legislative Assembly, but during the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the French First Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and Capital punishment in France, nu ...

he left Paris, his life having become endangered by his disapproval of the

massacres A massacre is an event of killing people who are not engaged in hostilities or are defenseless. It is generally used to describe a targeted killing of civilians en masse by an armed group or person. The word is a loan of a French term for "b ...

. When the Jardin du Roi was reorganised as the

Jardin des Plantes 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 ...

and as the

Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle The French National Museum of Natural History ( ; abbr. MNHN) is the national natural history museum of France and a of higher education part of Sorbonne University. The main museum, with four galleries, is located in Paris, France, within the Ja ...

1793 The French Republic introduced the French Revolutionary Calendar starting with the year I. Events January–June * January 7 – The Ebel riot occurs in Sweden. * January 9 – Jean-Pierre Blanchard becomes the first to ...

, Lacépède was appointed to the chair allocated to the study of

reptiles Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...

and

fishes A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fins and a hard skull, but lacking limbs with digits. Fish can be grouped into the more basal jawless fish and the more common jawed ...

. In 1798, he published the first volume of ''Histoire naturelle des poissons'', the fifth volume appearing in 1803, and in 1804 appeared his ''Histoire des cétacées''. From this period until his death the part he took in politics prevented him making any further contribution of importance to science. In 1799, he became a

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

, in 1801 president 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 ...

(a role he also fulfilled in 1807–08 and 1811–13), in 1803 grand chancellor of the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

, in 1804 minister of state, and at the Bourbon Restoration in 1819 he was created a

peer of France The Peerage of France () was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 during the Middle Ages. The prestigious title and position of Peer of France () was held by the greatest, highest-ranking members of the Fr ...

. He died at Épinay-sur-Seine. During the latter part of his life he wrote ''Histoire générale physique et civile de l'Europe'', published posthumously in 18 volumes, 1826. He was elected perpetual secretary 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 ...

at the

Institute of France The ; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the . It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute manages approximately 1 ...

in 1796, a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1806 and a foreign member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...

in 1812. Lacépède was initiated into

freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

at 22 years old at

Les Neuf Sœurs La Loge des Neuf Sœurs (; The Nine Sisters), established in Paris in 1734, was a prominent French Masonic Lodge of the Grand Orient de France that was influential in organising French support for the American Revolution. A "Société des Neuf S ...

lodge in Paris, by

Jérôme Lalande Joseph Jérôme Lefrançois de Lalande (; 11 July 1732 – 4April 1807) was a French astronomer, freemason and writer. He is known for having estimated a precise value of the astronomical unit (the distance from the Earth to the Sun) using measu ...

the worshipfull master himself, who wanted a naturalist for his prestigious lodge. In 1785, Lacépède created his own lodge : "Les Frères Initiés". After the Revolution, he helped Cambacérès to rebuild a French freemasonry submitted to the Emperor, and joined "Saint-Napoléon" lodge where General Kellermann was worshipfull master. He finished his masonic life as dignitary of the Suprême Conseil de France. *

Evolution

Lacépède was an early

evolutionary Evolution is the change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, resulting in certa ...

thinker. He argued for the

transmutation of species The Transmutation of species and transformism are 18th and early 19th-century ideas about the change of one species into another that preceded Charles Darwin's theory of evolution through natural selection. The French ''Transformisme'' was a ter ...

. He believed that species change over time and may go extinct from geological cataclysms or become "metamorphosed" into new species. In his book ''Histoire naturelle des poissons'', he wrote:

"The species can undergo such a large number of modifications in its forms and qualities, that without losing its vital capacity, it may be, by its latest conformation and properties, farther removed from its original state than from a different species: it is in that case metamorphosed into a new species."

Tributes

* Lacepede Bay in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, and the Lacepede Islands off the northern coast of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, are named after him. * The street Rue Lacépède near the Jardin des Plantes and the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in

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 ...

was named after him. * A

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

gecko Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates. They range from . Geckos are unique among lizards ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

, '' Phelsuma cepediana'', commonly known as the blue-tailed day gecko, is named in his honour.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Lacépède", p. 149).

Works

*''Les ages de la nature et histoire de l'espèce humaine.'' Paris 1830 p.m. *''Histoire naturelle de l'homme.'' Pitois-Le Vrault, Paris 1827 p.m. *
Histoire générale, physique et civile de l'Europe.
' Cellot, Mame, Delaunay-Vallée & de Mat, Paris, Brüssel 1826 p.m. *''Histoire naturelle des quadrupèdes ovipares, serpents, poissons et cétacées.'' Eymery, Paris 1825. *''Histoire naturelle des cétacées.'' Plassan, Paris 1804. *''Notice historique sur la vie et les ouvrages de Dolomieu.'' Bossange, Paris 1802. *''La menagerie du Museum national d'histoire naturelle.'' Miger, Paris 1801–04. *''Discours d'ouverture et de clôture du cours de zoologie.'' Plassan, Paris 1801. *''Discours d'ouverture et de clôture du cours d'histoire naturelle.'' Plassan, Paris 1799. * *''Discours d'ouverture et de clôture du cours d'histoire naturelle des animaux vertébrés et a sang rouge.'' Plassan, Paris 1798. *''Discours d'ouverture du Cours d'histoire naturelle.'' Paris 1797. *
Histoire naturelle des serpents. Tome second.
' de Thou, Paris 1789. *
Histoire naturelle des quadrupèdes ovipares et des serpens. Tome premier.
'' de Thou, Paris 1788. *''Vie de Buffon.'' Maradan, Amsterdam 1788. *
La poétique de la musique
'' Paris 1785. *
Physique générale et particulière
'' Paris 1782–84. *''Essai sur l'électricité naturelle et artificielle.'' Paris 1781.

References

External links

Internet Archive
Works by Lacepede * Lacépède (1856
''Histoire naturelle de Lacépède,'' 2 vol.
–

Linda Hall Library The Linda Hall Library is a privately endowed American library of science, engineering and technology located in Kansas City, Missouri, on the grounds of a urban arboretum. It claims to be the "largest independently funded public library of sc ...