Louis J.M. Daubenton (358)

Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton (29 May 1716–1 January 1800) was a naturalist, and a member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1775. Born in Burgundy, France, Daubenton begrudgingly studied theology in Paris until his father’s death, at which time he could dedicate his studies to his true passions: medicine and anatomy. Earning his degree at Rheims in 1741, Daubenton began composing anatomical descriptions for a project of his childhood friend and renowned naturalist, Georges Buffon. A few years later, Daebenton began working as Buffon’s assistant at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. Daubenton quickly earned a reputation as an innovative anatomist: he joined the French Academy of Sciences (1760), became lecturer in natural history at the College of Medicine (1775), then professor of zoology at the Collège de France (1780); when the Jardin des Plantes rebranded as the Museum of Natural History, he became its first director (1793). He is remembered as a pioneer in anatomy and paleontology and for introducing Merino sheep to France. In 1799, Daubenton became an elected member of the French Senate, but unfortunately, a month later he suffered from an attack of apoplexy and died. (EB, et al.)