Georges Cuvier

Georges Cuvier
Georges Cuvier
Born	23 August 1769 Montbéliard
Died	13 May 1832 Paris
Nationality	French
Fields	natural history, paleontology, anatomy
Institutions	Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle
Known for	establishing extinction, catastrophism, opposition to evolution, stratigraphy

Baron Georges Léopold Chrétien Frédéric Dagobert Cuvier (23 August 1769–13 May 1832) was a French naturalist and zoologist. He was the older brother of Frédéric Cuvier (1773–1838), also a naturalist. He was a very important figure in scientific circles in Paris during the early 19th century and helped establish the fields of comparative anatomy and paleontology by comparing living animals with fossils. He is well known because he proved extinction was a fact. He was the most influential person believing in catastrophism in geology in the early 19th century. He opposed early evolutionary theories. His most famous work is the Règne animal distribué d'après son organisation (1817; translated into English as The Animal Kingdom). He died in Paris, France of cholera.