CUVIER. L19 



The parents of young Ouvier inflicted upon liini 

 a terrible string of Christian names, for it was in 

 full, Georges Chretien Leopold Frederic Dagoberl 

 Cuvier, was born at Montbeliard (then belonging to 

 the Duke of AVurtemburg) , August 23, 1769. 



The family came originally from a village in the 

 Jura, which still bears the name of Cuvier; but becom- 

 ing the victims of religious persecution they were 

 much impoverished, and were driven to settle at 

 Montbeliard at the period of the Revolution, and 

 where some of its members held offices of distinction. 



The grandfather of Cuvier had two sons, the 

 younger of whom entered a Swiss regiment in the 

 service of France. A brave man and an excellent 

 officer, he rose to high honours, and at the age of 

 fifty married a lady considerably younger than 

 himself, and had three sons. The eldest died in 

 infancy, the second became the naturalist, and the 

 third was Frederick Cuvier. As Georges had a 

 delicate constitution, his mother watched over him 

 with the tenderest care. She taught him to read, 

 made him repeat to her his Latin lessons, instructed 

 him in drawing, and developed that ardent desire 

 for knowledge which was so remarkable in him. 



At the age of ten he was placed at a school called 

 the Gymnase, where he remained for four years. 

 He made rapid progress, and was constantly at the 

 head of the classes of geography, history, and 

 mathematics, and acquired Greek and Latin with 

 readiness. 



At this early period his taste for natural history 



