Georges Cuvier, biologist and paleontologist (1769-1832)

Georges Cuvier is considered one of the great thinkers of his time. This self-taught authority on zoology is the father of palaeontology and discoverer of the science of compared anatomy. According to Cuvier an animal's organs were not merely juxtaposed, but dependent on each other. Thus, the fact of possessing an essential piece of the animal, such as the teeth, for example, implies that one can reconstitute the rest of the body. Cuvier was born in Montbéliard and lived there till the age of 15. Subsequently, his love of science and nature brought him to Stuttgart and then to Normandy where he set up a laboratory. He finally settled in Paris where he worked and taught at the Museum of Natural History.