Answer
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, was a French naturalist, mathematician, biologist, cosmologist, and natural historian. He was a member of the Académie française and the Académie des sciences, and he served as intendant of the Jardin du Roi (now the Jardin des Plantes) from 1739 to 1788. He is best known for his 36-volume Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière, which he published between 1749 and 1788.