Benoît de Maillet, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Benoît de Maillet

French naturalists, biologist and diplomat

Date of Birth: 12-Apr-1656

Place of Birth: Saint-Mihiel, Grand Est, France

Date of Death: 30-Jan-1738

Profession: naturalist, diplomat, geologist

Nationality: France

Zodiac Sign: Aries

Benoît de Maillet (Saint-Mihiel, 12 April 1656 – Marseille, 30 January 1738) was a well-travelled French diplomat and natural historian.
He was French consul general at Cairo, and overseer in the Levant.
He formulated an evolutionary hypothesis to explain the origin of the earth and its contents. De Maillet's geological observations convinced him that the earth could not have been created in an instant because the features of the crust indicate a slow development by natural processes.
He also believed that creatures on the land were ultimately derived from creatures living in the seas.
He believed in the natural origin of man.
He estimated that the development of the earth took two billion years.



Description	French painter
Date of birth/death	9 February 1699	14 December 1789
Location of birth/death	Paris	Versailles
Work location	Paris, Vermenton (Burgund), Versailles
Authority control	: Q289759 VIAF: 5151674 ISNI: 0000 0000 6656 2592 ULAN: 500031991 WGA: JEAURAT, Etienne GND: 1019741252