Jacques-François Borda d'Oro

Jacques-François Borda d'Oro (* 1718 in Dax (Landes) , † January 4, 1804 in Saugnac ) was a French paleontologist and geologist . Originally he was called Borda, "Borda d'Oro" he called himself after his marriage in 1756.

Life

Jacques-François Borda d'Oro was a full-time lawyer and, from the age of 18, President of the Présidial of Dax in the Landes department . At the age of 24 he became lieutenant-general of the Sénéchaussée von Landes. He put on a large collection of fossils and rocks, mainly from the Tertiary around Dax. He was considered a suspect during the French Revolution and narrowly escaped the scaffold.

From 1753 he was a corresponding member of the Académie des Sciences , first of René-Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur , then of Duhamel du Monceau and, after his death in 1782, of Jean-Charles de Borda (1733–1799), who was also his cousin. In addition to these he was in scientific exchange with the mineralogist Jean-Étienne Guettard (1715–1786) and the chemist Pierre Joseph Macquer . In addition, his finds (including mastodon remains) attracted the interest of Georges Cuvier .

He left behind extensive manuscripts on the geology, petrography and paleontology of the area around Dax.

Web links

• Société de Borda
• Les landais célèbres (with photo)
• Gilles Serge Odin: “Le catalogue du cabinet de curiosités de Jacques-François Borda d'Oro (1718-1804), bicentenaire d'une collection régionale de roches et de fossiles.” Travaux du comité francais d´histoire de la géologie (COFRHIGEO ), 2004, website of the Annales des Mines.