science · 23 August 1769 · 255 years ago
birth
Born 23 Aug 1769; died 13 May 1832 at age 62.
Baron Georges Léopold Chrêtien Frédéric Dagobert Cuvier was a French zoologist, statesman, anatomist and paleontologist who did important work in comparative anatomy, paleontology, and extended the work by Linnaeus on the classification of the animal kingdom. His careful study of fossil remains established paleontology as its own new field of research. He coined the name for the pterodactyl based on his identifcation of its fossil remains. He understood fossils represented the preservation of an former organic life form, and his classification scheme incorporated such life forms. In analysis of anatomic structures, he recognized a correlation of parts, by which he was able to make astute insights in reconstructing an entire extinct animal from its disjointed parts. He believed in catastrophism, whereby the ancient world underwent periodic massive flooding, which eliminated some life forms.
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