Final answer:
Comte de Buffon was known for his contributions to natural history and the early ideas of evolution, recognizing extinct species and arguing for gradual geological and biological changes.
Step-by-step explanation:
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon is most known for his work in natural history and his ideas about the evolution of animals. In the eighteenth century, Comte de Buffon, along with others such as Erasmus Darwin, reintroduced the concept of evolution and recognized the existence of extinct species. His work contributed significantly to the discussions of stratification of rock and the understanding that geological and biological changes occurred gradually over time, challenging the then-predominant views of Earth's geology and species development.
Although not widely recognized during his lifetime, Buffon's scientific contributions were rediscovered and gained importance in the early twentieth century, influencing the study of heredity and evolution around the time that the chromosomal basis of heredity was being discovered.
Buffon's discoveries and thoughts were part of the broader Scientific Revolution, which also included the monumental works of scientists such as Sir Isaac Newton and Galileo, who reformed our understanding of the natural world through observation and mathematical laws.