Birth and Early Education.--Cuvier was born in 1769, at Montbéliard, a village at that time belonging to Württemberg, but now a part of the French Jura. His father was a retired military officer of the Swiss army, and the family, being Protestants, had moved to Montbéliard for freedom from religious persecution. Cuvier was christened Léopold-Christian-Frédéric-Dagobert Cuvier, but early in youth took the name of Georges at the wish of his mother, who had lost an infant son by that name. He gave an early promise of intellectual leadership, and his mother, although not well educated, took the greatest pains in seeing that he formed habits of industry and continuous work, hearing him recite his lessons in Latin and other branches, although she did not possess a knowledge of Latin. He early showed a leaning toward natural history; having access to the works of Gesner and Buffon, he profited by reading these two writers. So great was his interest that he colored the plates in Buffon's _Natural History_ from descriptions in the text. It was at first contemplated by his family that he should prepare for theology, but failing, through the unfairness of one of his teachers, to get an appointment to the theological seminary, his education was continued in other directions. He was befriended by the sister of the Duke of Württemberg, who sent him as a pensioner to the famous Carolinian academy at Stuttgart. There he showed great application, and with the wonderful memory with which he was endowed, he took high rank as a student. Here he met Kielmeyer, a young instructor only four years older than himself, who shared his taste for natural history and, besides this, introduced him to anatomy. In after-years Cuvier acknowledged the assistance of Kielmeyer in determining his future work and in teaching him to dissect. Life at the Seashore.--In 1788 the resources of his family, which had always been slender, became further reduced by the inability of the government to pay his father's retiring stipend. As the way did not open for employment in other directions, young Cuvier took the post of instructor of the only son in the family of Count d'Héricy, and went with the family to the sea-coast in Normandy, near Caen. For six years (1788-1794) he lived in this noble family, with much time at his disposal. For Cuvier this period, from the age of nineteen to twenty-five, was one of constant research and reflection.