Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/602

 598 CUYIER distinguishing himself in every branch there taught. At this early period his taste for nat- ural history was stimulated by reading a copy of Buffon which he found at the house of a relative ; and his memory was so retentive that at the age of 12 he was perfectly familiar with the descriptions of birds and quadrupeds. At 14 he formed a kind of academy from among his schoolmates, of which he was president, at whose weekly meetings the merits of some book were discussed ; here his oratorical and administrative powers began to manifest them- selves. A petty trick of a malicious teacher prevented his being sent to the free school of Tubingen, where he would have prepared him- self for the church ; and this change in his stu- dies he always regarded as most fortunate. Charles, duke of Wilrtemberg, took him under his special favor, and sent him to the academy of f Stuttgart in March, 1784. After studying philosophy one year, he applied himself to the science of fiscal administration, because it gave him an opportunity to pursue his favorite nat- ural history in books, in the fields, and in cab- inets. One of the professors gave him a copy of the " System of Nature " by Linnasus, which was his library on natural history for several years. While occupied by such reading and the collection of specimens, he also obtained several prizes in his class studies. On leav- ing Stuttgart he became private tutor in the family of Count d'Hericy in Normandy (July, 1788), where he remained till 1794. Here he pursued natural history with great zeal, being very favorably situated for the study of- both terrestrial and marine animals. Some terebra- tulcB having been dug up in his vicinity, he conceived the idea of comparing fossils with living species. The dissection of some mol- lusks suggested to him the necessity of a re- form in the classifications of animals; and here originated the germs of his two great works, the Ossemens fossiles, and the Regne animal. Through his acquaintance with M. Tessier he began a correspondence with Geof- froy St. Hilaire, Lacepede, and other Parisian savants on subjects of natural history ; and in the spring of 1795 he accepted their invitation to go to Paris, and was appointed professor in the central school of the Pantheon, for which he is said to have composed his Tableau ele- mentaire de Vhistoire naturelle des animaux, in which he first published his ideas on zo- ological arrangement. M. Mertrud had been appointed professor of comparative anatomy at the jardin des plantes ; feeling himself unable from age to discharge all its duties, he called upon Cuvier to assist him, who at this time invited his brother Frederic to join him, and commenced the collection of comparative anatomy which has since become so famous and extensive. In 1796 the national institute was formed, and Cuvier was associated with Lacepede and Daubenton in the section of zo- ology, and was its third secretary. The death of Daubenton at the close of 1799 made vacant for Cuvier the chair of natural history at the college de France ; and in 1802 he succeeded Mertrud as professor of comparative anatomy at the jardin des plantes. In 1800 M. Dumeril, one of Cuvier's pupils, published vols. i. and ii. of his lectures, under the title Lecons d>ana- tomie comparee ; the third, fourth, and fifth of the first edition, prepared by G. L. Duvernoy, appeared in 1805. In 1802, appointed by Bona- parte one of the inspectors general to establish lycees or public schools, he founded those of Marseilles, Nice, and Bordeaux. He quitted this office in 1803 on being elected perpetual secretary to the class of natural sciences in the institute, a position which he held until his death; in this capacity he made in 1808 his celebrated report on the progress of the natu- ral sciences since 1789, which appeared in 1810. In 1808 he was also made one of the councillors for life to the imperial university, by which he was frequently brought into close communication with Napoleon. In 1809-'10 he was charged with the organization of the new academies in the Italian states an- nexed to the empire. In 1811 he was sent on a similar mission to Holland and the Hanseatic towns, and was made chevalier of the legion of honor. In 1813, though a Protestant, he was sent to Kome to organize a university there, and was also appointed master of re- quests in the council of state. In 1814 he was named councillor of state by Napoleon, which honor was continued to him by Louis XVIII., as also that of royal commissary, which enabled him to introduce many im- provements in criminal and civil law ; and he was made chancellor to the university, which office he retained during life. In 1818 he visited England with his family, to observe its political and scientific institutions ; while there he was elected a member of the French acad- emy. In 1819 he was made grand master of the university, and president of the comite de Vinterieur, and Louis XVIII. created him baron. In 1822 he was appointed grand master of the faculties of Protestant theology, which gave him the superintendence of the re- ligious, civil, and political rights of his creed ; and in 1827 was added to this the management of the religious affairs of all the creeds in France except the Roman Catholic. In 1824 he acted as one of the presidents of the council of state at the coronation of Charles X., who in 1826 made him grand officer of the legion of honor. In 1827 he was offered the appoint- ment of censor of the press, which he refused. In 1830 he recommenced his lectures at the college de France on the " History and Prog- ress of Science in all Ages," which were con- tinued until his death ; in this year he made a second visit to England, where he happened to be when the revolution occurred which placed Louis Philippe on the throne of France. He continued to enjoy all his honors and impor- tant offices under the citizen king ; and in 1832 he was created peer of France, and the