PART I. 



George Leopold Chretien Frederic Dago- 

 BERT CuviER was bom at Montb^liard (d^parte- 

 ment du Doiibs) on the twenty- tliird of August, 

 1769. This town now belongs to France, but at 

 that time formed a part of the kingdom of Wiir- 

 temberg. His family came originally from a vil- 

 lage of the Jura, which still bears the name of 

 Cuvier, and settled at Montb^liard at the period 

 of the Reformation. The grandfatlier of the sub- 

 ject of the present biography had two sons ; one 

 became celebrated for his learning, and the 

 other, the father of George Cuvier, entered a 

 Swiss regiment then in the service of France. 

 Having much distinguished himself in his mili- 

 tary duties, he was made Chevalier de I'Ordre 

 du M6rite Militaire*, which, among the Protest- 

 ants, was equal to the catholic Croix de St. 



* The impossibility of finding English words equivalent to 

 French technical terms, names of public functions, orders, 

 &c. obliges me, in most cases, to preserve the original 

 phrase. 



