Daubenton, Louis Jean Marie

views updated

Louis Jean Marie Daubenton (lwē zhäN märē´ dōbäNtôN´), 1716–1800, French naturalist. He was a professor at the Collège de France from 1778; his work touched many fields—comparative anatomy, plant physiology, mineralogy, and experimental agriculture. He is known for his work on the anatomy of mammals in Buffon's Histoire naturelle and is credited with introducing the Merino sheep into France.