born Sept. 7, 1707
died April 16, 1788
A French naturalist, Buffon was the first to reconstruct geological history in a series of stages. His theory was published in Epoques do la nature (1778). This discovery led to the development of palaeontology. He was also the first to propose that the planets were created by a collision with the sun and a comet. Buffon was also a leading exponent of vitalism.